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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23236225">The Butterfly Saga</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/OptimusPhillip/pseuds/OptimusPhillip'>OptimusPhillip</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sidewinder AU [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bee Chloé Bourgeois | Queen Bee, Butterfly Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, F/M, Fox Alya Césaire | Rena Rouge, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth Redemption, Gen, Lila Rossi Redemption, Post-Reveal Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Turtle Nino Lahiffe | Carapace</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2019-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 02:48:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>75,702</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23236225</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/OptimusPhillip/pseuds/OptimusPhillip</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Another collection of stories from my DeviantArt, serving as a sequel to my previously posted Sidewinder Saga.<br/>Hawk Moth may be defeated, and Sidewinder may have returned to America, but that doesn't mean that Ladybug and Cat Noir are off the hook. On the contrary, the Peacock Miraculous has found its way into hands at least as dangerous as Gabriel Agreste's, and is being used to create monsters to rampage through Paris! But there's one thing they have now that they didn't before: the Butterfly Miraculous on their side, in the hands of Nathaniel Kurtzberg. With this, they'll be able to once again defend the people of Paris from the evil monsters.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alix Kubdel &amp; Nathaniel Kurtzberg</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sidewinder AU [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1680328</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Origins</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    Marinette and Adrien walked hand in hand out of the tube station, followed by Nathaniel a few feet behind.<br/>
    "So, should we just walk the rest of the way to the bakery," Adrien asked, "or should we save time and catch a coleslaw?"<br/>
    "Adrien, stop!" Marinette giggled. They walked up to a corner, when suddenly a taxi cab flew through their field of vision, making an ungodly metal crushing sound as it landed out of sight. Everyone on the block ran to the nearest cover, including Marinette and Adrien, who ducked into an alleyway.<br/>
    "What's going on?" Marinette said.<br/>
    "I don't know," Adrien said, "but it sounds like Paris needs its heroes once again. Plagg, claws out!"<br/>
    "Tikki, spots on!" Marinette said, and the two transformed into Ladybug and Cat Noir together. They ran out towards the street, when suddenly they heard a voice.<br/>
    "Heard you could use a hand." it said, causing the two to turn and see a hero in a purple suit with a black butterfly on the chest, holding a silver net.<br/>
    "Who are you?" Ladybug said.<br/>
    "I'm... the Butterfly." he said, "Yeah, the Butterfly, and this time, my power is on your side."<br/>
    "Well then, flutterboy," Cat Noir said, "let's see what you've got." Cat Noir ran out into the street, the Butterfly and Ladybug close behind. They looked towards the sounds of screaming and saw a massive pair of green jaws sticking out of a sewer drain, peering around like a periscope, only stopping once it was pointing directly at a girl in a yellow jacket and white capris.<br/>
    "Please, someone help me!" she said, "If you don't, my daddy will definitely hear about it!"<br/>
    "Figures she'd be the target." Ladybug muttered as the monster extended its long green neck.<br/>
    "I'm going in." The Butterfly shouted as he ran towards the creature, twirling his net. He jumped over an abandoned sedan, and swung at the monster with the butt of his net. The creature was stunned, and the Butterfly landed between it and Chloe.<br/>
    "Run!" he said, "We'll hold it off." Chloe scrambled to her feet and bolted down the street as the massive jaws lunged at the purple-clad hero. The Butterfly thrust his net into the coming maw, and the jaws closed around it, starting a tug-of-war for the metal implement. The Butterfly dug his heels into the tarmac, but still found himself sliding. Just as he felt a strong upwards tug, the monster was struck at the base of the head by a long metal rod, causing it to release its grip on the net. The Butterfly looked off to his side and saw Cat Noir smirking at him, staff extended. The Butterfly turned back to the creature and swung his net at the base of its long neck, causing it to spasm and thrash before retreating back into the sewer.<br/>
    "Not bad for a first time." Cat Noir said as the Butterfly walked back towards Ladybug and Cat Noir.<br/>
    "Thanks." he said, "Hey, where's Chloe?"<br/>
    "Good question." Ladybug said as she turned around, scanning her surroundings. Seeing nothing, she began to wander around. Before long, she found Chloe, huddled in the stairs to the metro station.<br/>
    "I-is it gone?" she stammered.<br/>
    "It's gone, Chloe." Ladybug said.<br/>
    "Well it's about time!" Chloe snapped as she stood up and climbed the stairs, "Do you know how long I've been waiting?"<br/>
    "Calm down, Chloe." Ladybug grumbled, "I just need to ask you a few questions."<br/>
    "What? You're blaming me for this?!"<br/>
    "Not necessarily, I just want to see if you know anyone who might want to target you."<br/>
    "That's ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. Everybody loves me!"<br/>
    "Based on my experience, I'd have to disagree."<br/>
    "Fine." Chloe grumbled, "I'm sure there are a lot of people who hate me. How am I supposed to narrow down from that who would send a giant snake after me?"<br/>
    <i>I don't have time for this.</i> Ladybug thought.<br/>
    "Look," she said, "we'll get to the bottom of this soon enough. In the meantime, you should probably find some shelter, and stay there until this gets sorted out."<br/>
    "What? I can't just lock myself inside all day! I have a life, you know."<br/>
    <i>Yes, because you have absolutely nothing to do in that massive penthouse. </i>Ladybug thought.<br/>
"It's for your own safety, trust me." Ladybug said.<br/>
    "Fine!" Chloe grumbled, "But I won't be happy with it." Chloe strutted over to her limousine.<br/>
    <i>Believe me, I do not care.</i></p>
<p>Nathaniel walked into his bedroom, closing the door behind him, and threw himself down onto his messy bed. A small, purple, fairy-like creature flew out of his jacket pocket.<br/>
    "Oh my gosh," he said, "that was amazing!"<br/>
    "Glad to see you're getting comfortable, master." the fairy said.<br/>
    "I think 'comfortable' would be an understatement, Nooroo."<br/>
    "I suppose, master."<br/>
    "Hey, why do you keep calling me that? Is that normal for kwamis, or..."<br/>
    "No. Sorry, my previous master insisted that I call him that, and now it's just a habit."<br/>
    "Well, you don't have to call me master if you don't want to. Just call me by my real name."<br/>
    "Okay, mast- Nathaniel."<br/>
    "So, tell me more about what I can do."</p>
<p>    Marinette sat at her desk the next day, phone to her ear as she spun around in her chair.<br/>
    "Come on, Pat, pick up!" she said when she heard a click on the other end.<br/>
    "Hey, Marinette." Pat yawned.<br/>
    "Sorry, did I wake you up?" Marinette asked.<br/>
    "Kind of, yeah. It's okay, though, I was pretty lucid anyway. What's up?"<br/>
    "Nothing much. How was your flight?"<br/>
    "About as good as a seven hour long flight can be." Pat and Marinette chuckled, "But in all seriousness, it was alright. They had <i>Knightowl</i> and <i>Knightowl Returns</i> as an in-flight movie, plus the seats weren't bad for a nap. After the flight, Mom drove me back home. I entertained her with the entire <i>Cool Down, Bro</i> cast album. Did you ever check that out, by the way?"<br/>
    "Not yet. Listen, I need to ask you about a couple things."<br/>
    "What's up?"<br/>
    "Well, right after you left, a new hero showed up. Adrien and I know nothing about this guy, and we were wondering if you knew anything about him."<br/>
    "Oh... uh... I do remember... when I returned the Miraculous to Master Fu. His kwami said that he sensed the Peacock Miraculous being activated, and Master Fu said that he'd need to find a new wielder for the Butterfly Miraculous to stop it."<br/>
    "Oh, so it was Master Fu's idea."<br/>
    "Yeah, it was."<br/>
    "So I guess I have no reason to be concerned, at least as long as he made the right choice." There was a moment of awkward silence, before Pat spoke up again.<br/>
    "Yeah, I hope he made the right choice." he said, "Well, as long as I'm up, might as well get started with my day. Talk to you later, I guess."<br/>
    "Okay, thanks for the info, bye."<br/>
    "Bye." the call ended.</p>
<p>    It was a very busy day at the metro station, as was to be expected in the early summer. Among the large crowd of tourists and everyday travelers stood Chloe Bourgeois, tapping her foot against the tactile paving blocks.<br/>
    "Come on!" she said, "How hard is it to get a stupid train to arrive on time?" As if in direct response to her complaint, a low rumble echoed through the tunnel to her left.<br/>
    "Finally, it's about time!" The rumble grew louder, and Chloe turned to look down the tunnel, but saw no train approaching. Instead, what she saw was a long, wide shadow, with a pair of jaws at the end. Chloe instantly turned and ran, but tripped over a random bystander's foot.<br/>
    "Hey, watch it!" she cried as she continued to bolt for the exit, shoving to little avail against the crowd until the large green jaws finally emerged. At that moment, everyone followed Chloe's lead, and ran for the stairs, pushing her to the ground in the process.</p>
<p>    Marinette sat on her chaise longue, immersed in her phone, where she was engaged in a text conversation with Adrien.<br/>
    "So, you said you were thinking of staying with Nino. How's that going?" she texted.<br/>
    "I was meaning to ask Nathalie about it, but she's been too busy lately." he replied.<br/>
    "Can't say I'm surprised. The scandal's probably had a major impact on the corporate side of things."<br/>
    "Yeah, I can see that." he said, "But don't sweat it, princess. I'll be fine." Marinette began to type a response, when she suddenly heard the sound of screaming coming from outside. She ran up the steps to her balcony, and saw a flood of people racing out of the nearby metro station.<br/>
    "Trouble at the metro station." she wrote.<br/>
    "On my way, m'lady." he replied.</p>
<p>    Nathaniel sat at his desk, sketching a humanoid shape in gray and orange, when suddenly his phone buzzed in his pocket. He set his colored pencil down and checked his phone. On the screen was a push notification reading "Akuma Alert: stay away from the Birague-Gotlib Metro Station"<br/>
    "Looks like they haven't updated the alert system." Nathaniel said, "Nooroo, we got trouble." Nooroo flew out from underneath a stack of drawings.<br/>
    "Well then, let's go!" he said.<br/>
    "Way ahead of you." Nathaniel slipped off his jacket and tossed it onto his bed, revealing the small purple brooch pinned to his shirt, "Nooroo, wings rise!" Nooroo fluttered over to him and phased into the brooch, causing a pair of wings to grow out the sides. Nathaniel ran his hands across his face, causing a silver butterfly mask to appear. He then slid his hands over his hair, causing a purple cowl to form behind the mask, which continued down his neck and onto his chest, where a blackbutterfly shape appeared. He stretched his arms out to the sides, and purple sleeves formed around them, ending in a black glove with slitted cuffs, resembling yet more butterfly wings. The costume continued down his legs, ending in similarly boots with similarly slitted cuffs. He raised his hand into the air, and a silver butterfly net appeared in his grasp. He twirled his net around, before grabbing it in both hands and assuming a fighting stance as the Butterfly.</p>
<p>    Ladybug swung down from a lamp post, landing next to the metro station stairwell. Cat Noir landed next to her, slowing his descent by twirling his staff.<br/>
    "Glad you could make it, kitty." she said, "I was almost scared you wouldn't show."<br/>
    "And miss the chance to fight alongside a purr-ty little thing like you?" he said, "Don't make me laugh." Ladybug chuckled and blushed.<br/>
    "So that's two of us, where's the third?"<br/>
    "Right behind you." A third voice said. Ladybug and Cat Noir turned to see the Butterfly standing on a rooftop. He jumped off and deployed a pair of wings from his back, which slowed his descent to a gentle glide.<br/>
    "What are the odds that Chloe's down there?" Ladybug said.<br/>
    "No time for predictions, m'lady." Cat Noir said, "We just gotta go in." Cat Noir leaped down the stairs into the metro station.<br/>
    "She's totally down there." the Butterfly said, and the two remaining heroes ran down the stairs. When they arrived, they were confronted with the sight of Chloe thrashing about between a pair of giant green jaws.<br/>
    "What took you so long?" Chloe shouted, "Help me! This thing is trying to kill me!"<br/>
    "Here, grab on!" Ladybug said as she threw her yo-yo towards Chloe. Chloe caught the yo-yo, and Ladybug pulled as hard as she could. The monster retaliated by pulling back, causing Chloe to scream in pain.<br/>
    "Hang on, I have an idea." the Butterfly said, "Cat Noir, we need some leverage."<br/>
    "While she's still pulling?" Cat Noir said.<br/>
    "Don't worry, I've got this."<br/>
    "Well, if you insist... I guess I should trust you." Cat Noir ran towards the edge of the platform and thrust his staff forward, "Say 'ah!'" The staff extended until it was long enough to reach through the gaps in the creature's teeth. Ladybug turned to see what Cat Noir was doing, and opened her mouth to speak, but before any words could escape, he had already twisted the staff upward, forcing the maw open. Chloe flew out of the creature's mouth, screaming as she approached the station wall, when suddenly a giant purple mesh sock appeared in front of her, catching her before any impact occurred. The Butterfly lowered his net to the ground, allowing Chloe to climb out before it shrunk back down to its normal size.<br/>
    "Are you hurt?" he said.<br/>
    "No, I'm fine." she said.<br/>
    "Then you should run." he said, and Chloe bolted for the stairs. The Butterfly ran to the edge of the platform, and saw Ladybug throw her yo-yo past the monster's neck. It ricocheted off the wall of the tunnel twice, and Ladybug caught it in her hand before throwing it again. It ricocheted again, and the neck was fully wrapped in string. Ladybug yanked on both ends of the string, and the monster took a direct hit to the head against the tracks. The creature took a moment to regain its bearings, and slid out of the string, its head folding in on itself as the black rope squeezed.<br/>
    "No skull, huh?" the Butterfly said, "Should make bashing it's head easier."<br/>
    "Assuming there's a brain in there," Cat Noir said, "which, judging by the way it acts, seems unlikely."<br/>
    "Worth a shot at least." The Butterfly said as he swung the butt of his net towards the creature's head. The giant jaws bent and folded under the impact, and the monster spasmed. Cat Noir followed up on the Butterfly's attack with another thrust of his staff, striking the underside of its head, causing it to writhe its way back into the tunnel.<br/>
    "It'll be back." Ladybug said, "Give me a second, I need to speak to Chloe." she turned and walked up the stairs, and found Chloe huddled behind a map sign.<br/>
    "So," Ladybug said, "you went out again."<br/>
    "I told you, I have a life." Chloe replied.<br/>
    "The way you behave sometimes makes me wonder if you really value that fact. I told you it was too dangerous to go out into the city with that thing on the loose, and yet you did it anyway." As Ladybug spoke, Cat Noir and the Butterfly came out of the metro station.<br/>
    "Look, you were right, I'm sorry. Are you happy now?"<br/>
    "Almost. I'm going to need you to tell me everyone you've spoken to since the end of school."<br/>
    "You expect me to remember all that? I talk to lots of people, who has time to keep track of that many people? Not me, that's why I have my butler, Jean-Claude, remember everything." Cat Noir took a deep breath and walked over to Chloe, gently nudging Ladybug out of the way. He got down onto his knee, so as to meet her eye level.<br/>
    "Look, Chloe," he said, "we really want to help you. But Ladybug's right, you have to cooperate with us if we're going to win this. Is there anything you can do that might help us?"<br/>
    "Well..." Chloe said, looking off to the side, "I could do this." she dug around her bag and pulled out her smartphone. She tapped and swiped the screen a couple times, and handed the phone to Cat Noir. On the screen was a map of the city, marked with dots connected by a line.<br/>
    "That's my location data for the past two days." she explained, "That should help you narrow things down, at least." The Butterfly stepped up behind Cat Noir.<br/>
    "Hey, could I see that for a second?" he said, and Cat Noir handed the phone to him. The Butterfly picked up his net, and the mesh retracted into a flat screen. He tucked the handle of the net under his arm and ejected a stylus from the side, which he used to redraw the map on his own screen.<br/>
    "Okay, that should do it." he said, "I believe you can have this back now." The Butterfly handed the phone back to Chloe.<br/>
    "Now," Ladybug said, "get yourself to shelter. And stay there this time."<br/>
    "Right." Chloe said.<br/>
    "Cat Noir, think you could go keep an eye on her, in case anything goes wrong?"<br/>
    "Consider it done." Cat Noir said as he hoisted Chloe back to her feet and led.<br/>
    "And I'll try and hunt down our monster's keeper." The Butterfly said.<br/>
    "Good luck with that," Ladybug said, "Looked like a long route."<br/>
    "But luckily for me, I don't have to make it myself." The Butterfly held out his hand, and a small cabbage white landed in his palm. He blew gently into his hand, and a pair of purple eyespots appeared on its wings. He held the net screen up in front of the butterfly, and the butterfly flew away.<br/>
    "What was that all about?" Ladybug said.<br/>
    "That butterfly is my eyes and ears now." he explained, "Anything it sees, I'll see. It'll retrace Chloe's steps, and hopefully find us our guy."<br/>
    "That's... actually an awesome idea. I didn't even know you could do that!"<br/>
    "Eh, it's basically just a weaker version of the spell to create aku-er, heroes. Nothing special."<br/>
    "Still, it's pretty cool. Well, I should probably get going. After all, 'I have a life.'" Ladybug chuckled and swung away, and the Butterfly ducked into an alleyway.<br/>
    "Wings fall." he said, and his costume disappeared in a flash of purple, and Nooroo appeared in front of him.<br/>
    "That's quite a tall order you gave yourself." the butterfly kwami said, "Combing through that many people is going to be hard."<br/>
    "I'm sure it'll pay off." Nathaniel said, "Besides, it's... not like I have anything better to do this afternoon." Nathaniel stepped out of the alleyway and began to walk home.<br/>
    "Hey, Nathaniel. Do you think on the way home, you could pick up some food for me? That last spell took a bit of energy."<br/>
    "Sure, what kind of food do you prefer?"<br/>
    "Have you heard of the miracle berry?"</p>
<p>    Nathaniel creeped through his bedroom door, closing it silently.<br/>
    <i>Doesn't seem they noticed I was gone.</i> he thought, <i>That's good.</i> He took a seat at his desk and dug a red can out of his backpack. Nooroo flew out of his jacket and towards the can.<br/>
    "Hope you don't mind freeze-dried." Nathaniel said, "I Giga'd it, turns out it has no shelf life."<br/>
    "It'll do." Nooroo said, "At least it's better than what my old master gave me." Nooroo phased through the wall of the can, and pushed the lid off from within, holding a wrinkled red berry. He tossed it into the air and swallowed it whole.<br/>
    "Well, let me know once you're recharged. We need to keep up to speed with what my little spy is seeing."<br/>
    "Okay, I should be good after just one more." Nooroo flew back down into the can, and ate another berry, "Okay, I'm ready." Nooroo flew into Nathaniel's brooch, and it began to glow. Nathaniel closed his eyes.</p>
<p>    <i>The butterfly flew through the streets of Paris, dodging cars, pedestrians and cyclists as it made its way to its first stop, a hair salon in the eleventh arrondissement. It landed on the back of a dryer seat, looking directly at the woman at the front desk, who was engaged in a phone call.<br/>
    "Oh, that's terrible, Chloe," she said, "I'll let Cristina know right away. Thanks for calling." she hung up the phone and turned to the thin, black-haired woman, who was in the process of sorting bottles of conditioner.<br/>
    "Chloe Bourgeois is cancelling tomorrow's appointment, Cristina." she said, "Can't leave her home for safety reasons."<br/>
    "Oh, that's too bad." Cristina said, "She was always such a great customer."<br/>
    </i>There's a phrase I never thought I'd hear. <i>Nathaniel thought, </i>Well, there's no one else here right now, so I guess we can just move on to the next stop. <i>The butterfly fluttered its wings and flew back out the window.</i></p>
<p>Marinette threw herself onto her bed and grabbed onto one of her pillows.<br/>
    "Why did I have Adrien be the one to guard Chloe?" she said to no one in particular. Nonetheless, she received a response.<br/>
    "Would you rather have to put up with her yourself?" Tikki said.<br/>
    "I guess not, but..."<br/>
    "You're not jealous are you?" Tikki giggled.<br/>
    "No, why would I be? It's just that... Chloe's been trying to get with Adrien for as long as I can remember and..."<br/>
    "So you're not jealous, you're just afraid she'll try to steal him? Aren't those just the same thing?"<br/>
    "Well, now that you mention it..."<br/>
    "Remember, Adrien's loved you from the start. Plus, Chloe has no idea that Cat Noir is Adrien. Everything will be okay."<br/>
    "Maybe you're right."</p>
<p>    Nathaniel lay on his bed, a clenched fist dangling off the edge.<br/>
    "I don't get it." he said, "I've retraced almost all of Chloe's steps, and no suspects. No one even seems to dislike her. Her hairdresser, her manicurist, how is she even on good terms with this many people?"<br/>
    "Maybe she just is nice to them because she needs their services?" Nooroo's voice said in Nathaniel's head, "Oops, sorry."<br/>
    "Sorry for what?"<br/>
    "Nothing, I guess. Sorry."<br/>
    "You apologize a lot, you know that?"<br/>
    "Yeah, I'm so-" Nathaniel bit his lip to hold back a snicker.<br/>
    "Anyway," Nooroo said, "we still have one more stop to make."</p>
<p>    <i>The butterfly flew towards the final stop on its journey: Menken and Son's Florist, a flower shop in the sixth arrondissement. It entered through an open window and landed in between two potted plants. It fixed its gaze on the proprietor, a gray-haired man in a pin-striped shirt and khaki slacks, who was putting together a bouquet of yellow and black roses. He managed to assemble about half before running out of flowers, the last one still in his hand. He buried his head in his hands, groaning in frustration.<br/>
    "I can't do it." he said, "There's just not enough time to get more flowers."<br/>
    </i>That color scheme, <i>Nathaniel thought, </i>I wonder who could've commissioned that. <i>The butterfly fluttered its wings and flew closer to the man.<br/>
    "I'm really going to hear it from her this time." he said, "She asks way too much of me." He clenched tightly onto the rose in his hand, which began to glow blue.<br/>
    </i>That must be the monster's power source! <i>Nathaniel thought, </i>I gotta warn Cat. Okay, little buddy, come back. <i>The butterfly flapped its wings and took to the air, when it suddenly bumped into the leaves of another plant. It fluttered its wings again, but failed to lift off, for the leaves of the plant seem to have moved closer together, restraining its wings. The butterfly kicked and struggled, but the leaves only folded closer together, as small droplets of clear liquid formed beneath its feet.</i></p>
<p>Nathaniel's eyes shot open as Nooroo flew out of the brooch.<br/>
    "Well, that was unexpected." Nathaniel said.<br/>
    "I don't even know what happened there. Do you?" Nooroo asked.<br/>
    "I'm not sure either. Unless... Nooroo, I think I just figured out what's going on."<br/>
    "What do you mean?"<br/>
    "That butterfly, I think it got eaten by a Venus flytrap, and that got me thinking 'what if the monster is also a Venus flytrap?'"<br/>
    "That would make a lot of sense. But that rose... it was glowing."<br/>
    "You're right, that can't be good. We should warn Cat Noir. Nooroo, wings rise!" Nooroo flew back into Nathaniel's brooch, and he transformed into the Butterfly. He ran to the window and leaped out onto the edge of a nearby rooftop. He took out his net and activated its phone mode, the bag retracting into a digital screen once again. Two icons appeared on the screen, a ladybug and a cat paw. He tapped the cat paw, and Cat Noir's face appeared on the screen.<br/>
    "Butterfly, what's up?" he said.<br/>
    "I've figured out what the monster is, and who it's working for." the Butterfly replied.<br/>
    "What is it?"<br/>
    "It's some kind of flytrap plant, and it's working for the old florist, Menken."<br/>
    "What?" Chloe said off to the side. The video feed jerked around until her face was in full view. "Why would Menken be mad at me?"<br/>
    "Probably because you ask way too much of him, and berate him when he can't deliver." the Butterfly said.<br/>
    "Are you accusing me of something?" Chloe said.<br/>
    "Hey, don't shoot the messenger, I'm just telling you what I heard him saying. Whatever the reason, I think it's on the move again. I'm on my way over right now, in case you need any help."<br/>
    "Got it." Cat Noir said as he wrestled the staff back, "I'll call Ladybug, let her know what's going on. Cat out." The screen went black again, and the Butterfly holstered his net on his belt. He ran to the edge of the rooftop and jumped up onto a taller building. He ran to the edge and leaped across a gap to another rooftop. He made another tall leap, and landed on the roof of an even taller building. He ran to the edge, but stopped short of another jump. He gazed into the skyline and saw Le Grand Paris in the distance beneath him.<br/>
    <i>I don't think I could make it that far in time, not on foot at least.</i> he thought to himself, <i>Looks like there's only one way.</i> The Butterfly took a deep breath and a pair of wings deployed from his back. He stepped back as far as he could, to the opposite edge of the roof. <i>You can do this, Nath.</i> Another deep breath, <i>You can do this, Butterfly.</i> Several deep breaths later, and he bolted across the rooftop. He closed his eyes and jumped off the edge. He tentatively opened his eyes, and saw skyscrapers rushing past him. Horizontally. He looked around him, and saw, sure enough, that he was gliding smoothly through the air, hundreds of feet above the city ground. Underneath him, he saw people the size of pinpoints looking up at him as he soared over the city. He stifled a laugh as he redirected his focus back to the building, which was now substantially closer. Once he flew over the edge of the balcony, his wings retracted, and with a tuck and roll, he stopped right in front of Cat Noir.<br/>
    "Did you just fly all the way over here?" Cat Noir said.<br/>
    "Well, technically it was more of a glide." the Butterfly admitted as he stood back up.<br/>
    "Dude, that's amazing! I didn't know you could do that."<br/>
    "Thanks. Honestly, I wasn't too sure of it, myself. You said you'd contact Ladybug, right?"<br/>
    "She's on her way as we speak. In fact, I think I see her now." Cat Noir pointed off into the distance. The Butterfly turned, and saw a red blur swinging between buildings and running across rooftops. Ladybug landed in front of the two.<br/>
    "Where's Chloe?" she said.<br/>
    "She's inside, with her butler." Cat Noir said.<br/>
    "Think she'll be safe that way?" the Butterfly said.<br/>
    "In the short-term, probably. I'm sure I'll have to come up with something better before long, especially if that monster shows up here."<br/>
    "What is this?!" the trio heard Chloe shout from inside, prompting them to all run through the door to see Chloe in the arms of her butler, Jean, staring at an oversized cluster of five-petal flowers in yellow and black.<br/>
    "It's here." the Butterfly said.<br/>
    "Jean, get Chloe someplace safe." Cat Noir said.<br/>
    "Say no more, Cat Noir." Jean said as he led Chloe to the door to the extravagant bedroom. As they stepped out, however, a large pair of green jaws burst through the wall, snapping at her menacingly. Jean turned around, placing himself between the plant and Chloe, as they ran away from the door, slamming it behind them.<br/>
    "Okay, maybe this is the safest place for her right now." Cat Noir conceded.<br/>
    "At the very least, it would be more dangerous to try and leave." Ladybug agreed.<br/>
    "Um, guys?" the Butterfly said, "I think we've got a bigger problem on our hands." Ladybug and Cat Noir turned to see the Butterfly pointing out the window, where a giant flytrap head was slowly rising above the building edge.<br/>
    "It's over there now?" Cat Noir said, "But wasn't it just-"<br/>
    "Real flytraps don't just have one mouth like in the movies, Cat Noir." the Butterfly said, "They have a bunch of traps... all around... uh oh." The three heroes ran out to the balcony, just in time to see more traps bursting out of manhole covers, or just straight through the tarmac. Before long, the whole building was surrounded by gigantic flytrap stalks, each topped with the same set of elongated green jaws, all of which quickly oriented themselves towards the building. One trap snapped at the balcony, right where the heroes stood, but the Butterfly smacked it away with his net. Cat Noir followed suit, extending his staff and whacking the elongated leaf with it. The plant bit down on the staff and began to pull, but Cat Noir stood firm. Ladybug threw her yo-yo down onto the stem, and it wrapped around several times before coming back to her. She yanked on both ends, digging into the green, fibrous flesh, but the flytrap lunged at her, startling her into releasing one end of her yo-yo. It lunged at her again, and she tried to jump away, but the yo-yo was still tightly wrapped around the stalk, and still wrapped around her finger. The giant jaws clamped around her, and yanked her up with enough force to unwrap the yo-yo. Ladybug struggled and squirmed, trying to wriggle free, but the jaws only closed tighter.<br/>
    "Ladybug, stop struggling!" the Butterfly shouted, "If you don't move, it'll think it just grabbed a rock or something and spit you out."<br/>
    "Are you sure about that?" she shouted.<br/>
    "That's how they work in the wild, at least."<br/>
    "Well, it's the only idea we've got." Ladybug tensed up, her entirely body freezing like a statue. The flytrap stopped moving, and worked its mouth a bit. After several tense seconds, it bent down over the balcony and opened its jaws, dropping Ladybug onto a lounge chair, which was crushed by the impact. Ladybug stumbled back to her feet.<br/>
    "Well... that definitely worked." Ladybug said.<br/>
    "So now what do we do?" Cat Noir said.<br/>
    "I say it's time we pull out all the stops." the Butterfly said.<br/>
    "I agree." Ladybug said as she threw her yo-yo into the air, "Lucky Charm!" A swarm of ladybugs flew around the yo-yo, until the glow faded and a lighter fell into Ladybug's hand.<br/>
    "A lighter?" Ladybug said.<br/>
    "Of course!" Cat Noir said, "It's a plant. Plants burn!"<br/>
    "But is this going to be enough?" Ladybug asked.<br/>
    "I'm sure you'll figure something out, with those Ladybug-senses of yours." Ladybug looked around, in search of something to use the lighter with, but the only thing highlighted in her vision was the Butterfly.<br/>
    "It seems that... the answer is with you, Butterfly." Ladybug said.<br/>
    "With me?" the Butterfly said, "But how coul-"</p>
<p>    "<i>I will grant you the power to give someone their own powers and make them your devoted follower." Nooroo explained.</i></p>
<p>"I've got an idea." the Butterfly said before he extended his arm out to the side. He twisted his wrist, and a nearby white butterfly flew over to him. He caught it between his hands, and a purple glow appeared around it. "Fly, Tenshi!" he said as he released the butterfly, now a brilliant regal purple, and it flew back through the balcony door, towards Jean, and the crying Chloe.<br/>
    "Calm down, mademoiselle." he said, "Ladybug and her friends will protect you, they always do. Would you feel more comfortable with Mr. Cuddly?" Jean held up a yellow and black stuffed bear to Chloe. Chloe shoved the arm away, right into the path of the tenshi. The purple butterfly phased into the bear, and a butterfly-shaped light mask appeared in front of Jean's eyes.<br/>
    "Flintlock," the Butterfly said in his head, "this is the Butterfly. If you want to keep Chloe safe, your best bet would be to accept the powers I'm offering you, and help us burn this flytrap to the ground."<br/>
    "Say no more, <span class="u">Monsieur Papillon</span>." Jean said, and in a flash of purple, a suit of gray stone armor appeared around his body, the gaps filled with glowing orange. Over his face was a mask shaped like a flaming butterfly, made of the same gray stone as his armor. There was a series of crashing sounds bleeding through the bedroom wall, slowly getting louder.<br/>
    "Stand back, mademoiselle." Flintlock said as he gently pushed Chloe behind him, handing the now-purple bear to her. As the crashing sounds reached a peak, he snapped his stone-covered fingers against his steel-coated thumbs, igniting flames in his hands as a giant flytrap maw burst through the wall. He grabbed the jaws in his flaming hands, causing the oversized leaves to catch fire as they fought to snap shut. Before long, the points at which Flintlock grabbed the jaws burned away, freeing them from his grip, but not from the fire which had now burned away half of its flesh, and was still burning bright. Chloe scrambled away from the flaming flytrap, which was thrashing haphazardly. Flintlock grabbed a small bit of fire off of the plant and ran out to the balcony. He jumped over the edge and landed on the green neck of another trap before tossing the flames in his hands at it.<br/>
    "Who was that?" Ladybug asked.<br/>
    "Chloe's butler, tenshified into Flintlock." the Butterfly explained.<br/>
    "So you're calling them tenshis now?" Cat Noir said.<br/>
    "Yeah, 'akuma' was just too evil for me." The Butterfly looked back down over the edge of the balcony, and saw Flintlock turning his hands over each other, causing a spire of flame to coil around the plant's stalk. The leaf-like structure began to burn as Flintlock leaped over to another trap, grabbing it by the base of its jaws. Flames began to creep up onto the leaves, but another trap lunged at him. He jumped off of the stalk, but the jaws moved too fast, and he was completely enclosed. The leaf-lobes bulged and deformed as he struggled to escape, but the flesh was too strong for even his strongest punches to puncture. The struggling stopped.<br/>
    "Is he..." Cat Noir started.<br/>
    "It's not looking good." Ladybug admitted. The three went silent for about ten seconds, when suddenly the jaws began to blacken, and a flaming fist burst through the dried, smoldering flesh. Another flaming hand emerged from the hole, and with a simple outwards motion, the trap tore clean open, and Flintlock emerged, dripping in digestive fluid. He jumped out of the giant hole and flew over to the next trap, using downwards flames as thrust. Flintlock grabbed onto the neck and burned clean through, causing the trap to fall off and onto a rooftop. He jumped over to the next trap, punched clean through the maw with another flaming fist, and raised his arm up with enough force to rip the leaves down the middle. Now only one trap remained, embedded in the wall of the building. He leaped over to the base of the stalk, and snapped his fingers again, igniting another flame in his hand. He forced his flaming fist through the giant stem, and the trap pulled out from the wall. It lunged forward, trying to grab at Flintlock, but by the time the trap had gone down, he had already climbed through the hole to the other side. The plant bit itself at the base of its stalk, and Flintlock shot a stream of flame at it. The green flesh blackened, and began to fuse itself together. Now a harmless loop of green flesh sat where a dangerous carnivore once stood, the threat neutralized at last.<br/>
    "Well done, Flintlock." the Butterfly said, "Thanks to you, Chloe is safe. You can come back up now." Flintlock flew up to the balcony and landed in front of the trio. The four all bumped fists.<br/>
    "Pound it!" they said in unison.<br/>
    "Is Chloe still inside?" Flintlock said.<br/>
    "She is." Cat Noir affirmed.<br/>
    "I take it now is the time for you to take my powers back?" Flintlock asked.<br/>
    "I'm afraid so," the Butterfly said, "but if we ever need your help again, you'll be the first to know." The Butterfly held out his hand, when suddenly one of the decapitated stalks began to thrash about again, a pair of small leaves growing on the end.<br/>
    "Is it... regenerating?" Cat Noir said.<br/>
    "We can't just kill the monster." Ladybug said, "We need to find whatever created it and purify it. You said the monster's from that florist, right?"<br/>
    "It is." Cat Noir and the Butterfly said in unison.<br/>
    "Well I'm heading down there. You three can hold it off on your own, right?"<br/>
    "I'll do whatever it takes to protect Chloe." Flintlock said.<br/>
    "Good. I'll be right back, I promise." Ladybug threw her yo-yo into the skyline and swung off.</p>
<p>    Menken sat in the corner of the shop, nestled between the gardenias and peonies, clutching the glowing blue-black rose. He heard a bell at the door.<br/>
    "Please, go away." Menken said.<br/>
    "The sign says open." Ladybug said as she walked in front of him.<br/>
    "Oh, Ladybug!" Menken said as he rushed to his feet, "Thank heavens you're here. I need your help."<br/>
    "Does it have anything to do with the giant flytrap?"<br/>
    "I swear to you, I'm not the one controlling it."<br/>
    "I never said you were."<br/>
    "I just, I was having a rough day at the shop yesterday, when suddenly this blue feather blew in through the window, and landed in the rose I was holding. Then there was a voice in my head, calling herself 'Mayura', and she said she'd solve my problems. Then next thing I knew, that thing just... appeared. I tried everything to get rid of it, I even tore up the rose. But the feather just blew back in, and pulled the whole thing back together."<br/>
    "Don't worry, I can help you." Ladybug held out her hand, and Menken held the rose out to her. She grabbed the rose by the petals and yanked as hard as she could. The petals fell to the floor, and a small blue feather drifted out along the breeze.<br/>
    "Oh no you don't." Ladybug said as she took out her yo-yo, opening it up to reveal a pool of pink energy. She swept the feather into the pool, and closed the yo-yo up. "Gotcha." she said as she opened the yo-yo up, releasing a harmless white feather onto the breeze.<br/>
    "Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug shouted as she tossed the lighter into the air, releasing a swarm of ladybugs that flew around the city. The swarm repaired the manhole cover that the first stalk burst through, then they repaired the metro station, and finally they swarmed around Le Grand Paris, causing the flytrap to disappear, and all the damage it inflicted to be repaired.<br/>
    "Is it over?" Chloe said as she poked her head out the balcony door, still clutching the tenshified bear.<br/>
    "Yep, looks like Ladybug sorted everything out." Cat Noir said.<br/>
    "Once again, you've done extremely well, Flintlock." the Butterfly said, "Now I recall your powers, until we need you again." The tenshi flew out of Mr. Cuddly, and back into the Butterfly's hand. He blew on it softly, and it turned back into a normal white butterfly, before flying away into the distance, and Flintlock turned back into Jean.<br/>
    "Thank you, heroes." Jean said, "Now come, Chloe, your father is probably worried sick." Jean led Chloe back indoors, leaving Cat Noir and the Butterfly alone.<br/>
    "So," Cat Noir said, "what did you think of your first adventure, Butterfly?"<br/>
    "It was awesome!" the Butterfly said, "I cannot believe I got to fight a giant Venus flytrap, and I got to fight with Ladybug and Cat Noir! That's like a dream come-" the Butterfly was cut off by a beeping noise. He looked down at his brooch, and saw that two of the once-silver wings were now black, and a third was blinking.<br/>
    "Oh, I should probably go." the Butterfly said as he approached the edge of the balcony, "Can't wait to fight alongside you two again." The Butterfly climbed up onto the railing, and dove off, deploying his glider wings as he fell.</p>
<p>    Nathaniel crashed on his bed, Nooroo hovering beside his head, feasting on a miracle berry.<br/>
    "Well done, Nathaniel." Nooroo said.<br/>
    "Thanks, it really was amazing." Nathaniel said, "So, why are they called 'miracle berries'?"<br/>
    "Didn't you read the label? It completely changes your palate."<br/>
    "What do you mean?"<br/>
    "Got anything sour?"<br/>
    "One sec." Nathaniel walked out of the room, and returned a few seconds later, holding a paper cup filled with clear yellow liquid, "Okay, now what?"<br/>
    "Try a sip of it, then have a berry, then have another sip."<br/>
    "Um... okay." Nathaniel took a sip of his lemonade: sour may be too strong of a word, but it was noticeably tart. He then took a berry out of the can, and ate it. It had a mild tang to it, nothing too intense. After a second sip of lemonade, however, Nathaniel's eyes went wide, and he nearly dropped his cup. The lemonade was now super sweet, as if he had just taken a swig of watered down maple syrup.<br/>
    "I get it now." he said.</p>
<p>    Nathalie Sancoeur sat at her desk in her former boss's atelier, sorting through various paperwork as e-mails piled up in her inbox. She heard a knock at the door.<br/>
    "Come in, please." she said, and the door opened slightly. Adrien stepped through, and walked over to the desk.<br/>
    "If you've got a second," he said, "I'd... like to talk to you about something."<br/>
    "It's this house, isn't it?" she said, and Adrien nodded, "I understand. Do you have some place in mind you'd like to stay until you can figure things out?"<br/>
    "You remember my friend, Nino, right?" Adrien asked.<br/>
    "He's the one who tried to persuade your father to let you have a birthday party, right?"<br/>
    "Yeah. I know that my father didn't really like him, but-"<br/>
    "I'm sure you would be just fine staying with him. Your bodyguard will help you pack whatever you need."<br/>
    "Thank you, Nathalie."<br/>
    "Oh, and while you're here, you received a package." Nathalie reached under the desk and handed Adrien a brown cardboard box.<br/>
    "Thanks. And thanks again. Honestly, I'm surprised you're letting me do this."<br/>
    "I'm not as heartless as I may seem, Adrien." Adrien smiled and exited the atelier.<br/>
    <i>Besides,</i> she thought as a devilish smirk crossed her face, <i>now I have the entire house to myself.</i></p>
<p>Adrien sat down on the couch in his room, and opened up the brown parcel. Inside he found a bouquet of red, pink and white roses, wrapped in a clear plastic.<br/>
    <i>Was not expecting this.</i> Adrien thought, when he noticed a tag tied around the stems, outside the wrapper.<br/>
    "Dear Adrien," it read, "sorry to hear about what happened to your father. I want you to know that there's someone in your corner if you need them. Sincerely, a friend."<br/>
    <i>"A friend"?</i> he thought, <i>Which of my friends would've sent me this?</i> He took another look at the tag, and noticed a small logo on the corner.</p>
<p>    Menken and Son: Paris' Favorite Florist</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Man-Fly</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    Nathaniel strolled through the gates of the Place du Vosges, passing tall trees and green grass before taking a seat on a bench by the fountain. A small purple head poked out from inside of his jacket.<br/>    "What brings you out here today, Nathaniel?" Nooroo asked.<br/>    "Do I need a reason?" Nathaniel countered, "It's a beautiful day, and I figured I might as well get some fresh air while I draw." Nathaniel took out his sketchbook and opened it to a blank page. He took out a charcoal pencil and began to scratch it across the paper, creating the outline of the fountain in front of him.<br/>    "Well, it's just that... well, while I was working with Hawk Moth, I saw inside your mind more than once, and... you never really did anything like this before."<br/>    "Hmm, now that you mention it..."<br/>    "Ah, just the person I was looking for!" a voice said, startling Nathaniel. Nooroo pulled himself back into Nathaniel's pocket, and Nathaniel quickly slammed the sketchbook shut and held it to his chest.<br/>    "How much did you see?" Nathaniel said a little more loudly than he planned as he turned to see a skinny man with gray hair approaching him.<br/>    "Now, now, there's no need to be ashamed of your drawings. Nathaniel, isn't it?" the man said.<br/>    <em>Good,</em> Nathaniel thought, <em>he doesn't seem to have seen Nooroo.<br/>    </em>"I'm sorry." Nathaniel said, "Yeah, I'm Nathaniel. You said you were... looking for me?"<br/>    "Yes, allow me to introduce myself. David Brundle, I'm a friend of Mr. Bronn's."<br/>    "My art teacher?" Nathaniel asked.<br/>    "That's him." David said.<br/>    "So, what do you need me for?"<br/>    "I'm glad you asked. See, I'm a producer for a local theater troupe, and I need an artist to help with the set and costumes for our next show. I mentioned it to Mr. Bronn, and he recommended you for the job. What do you say?"<br/>    "Are you serious?"<br/>    "Why wouldn't I be?" David said, "It'd be a great way to hone your skills, and to get a little extra money."<br/>    "Well, I definitely appreciate the offer, but... I might need a moment to think about it."<br/>    "Oh, of course. I'll leave you alone then, but here, take my card." David handed Nathaniel a small card which read "Theatre Peltier" in red foil letters, along with David's name, phone number, and e-mail address, and the address of the theater.<br/>    "Call me once you've made up your mind." David said as he walked away.<br/>    "You're not seriously going to say no to this, are you?" Nooroo said as he poked his head out of Nathaniel's jacket.<br/>    "I don't know, Nooroo." Nathaniel replied, "I mean, I'd love to be able to do art professionally, but this... it's just all so sudden, you know? Plus, I know practically nothing about theater."<br/>    "I'm sure Mr. Brundle would be more than willing to teach you anything you'd need to know for this. Besides, this could be a great opportunity to break out of your shell."<br/>    "You do have a point there, Nooroo. I think I'll do it, just gotta make sure it's okay with my parents."</p><p>    The next day, Nathaniel stood at the doors to a large Romanesque building, the card in his hand and Nooroo still in his pocket.<br/>    "This is the place." he said.<br/>    "Don't be nervous, Nathaniel." Nooroo whispered, "Everything will be okay." Nathaniel took a deep breath and pushed the door open. He walked down the hall for a moment and found a large pair of wooden doors at the end. He opened one of the doors and stepped through. On the other side, David sat at a semicircular table with three other people that Nathaniel didn't recognize.<br/>    "Ah, Nathaniel!" David said, "Glad you could make it. Please, have a seat." David gestured towards an empty chair, and Nathaniel took a seat.<br/>    "Now all that's left is to wait for our head of wardrobe." One of the other people said.<br/>    "I'm sure she'll be here soon enough, Stuart." David said, "Let's just get into the basics, can't keep Mr. Kurtzberg here waiting too long, can we?"<br/>    "Oh, it's fine," Nathaniel said, "I can wait for her."<br/>    "No, really, I'm sure it won't be too hard to get her back up to speed." David said, "Now, for those new to this team, our show is called <em>The Man-Fly</em>, I trust that you're all familiar with it." Everyone else at the table nodded, with the exception of Nathaniel.<br/>    "Vaguely," he muttered, "I might need a refresher."<br/>    "Of course. It's about a young scientist named Philippe, who discovers the secret to teleportation. However, while testing the machine on himself, a fly is trapped in the chamber with him, and the two are fused together. As the show progresses, Philippe tries to figure out a cure for his condition, but in the end he's forced to commit suicide to protect his love interest, Barbara, from the monster he slowly becomes."<br/>    "Sounds pretty ambitious for a stage production."<br/>    "But totally doable with the right people." David assured him, "Now, first order of business, casting. Stuart and I will be holding auditions for the role of Philippe today. In the meantime, Charles and Edward will start work on the preliminary set design, and Nathaniel, you'll be working with our head of wardrobe on the design for the Man-Fly creature itself."<br/>    "Sounds good," Nathaniel said, "Who's the head of wardrobe?" Before David could respond, a black-haired girl in a red t-shirt and black jacket stumbled through the door, dropping her sketchbook in the process. Nathaniel jumped to his feet and ran over towards her, helping her up from the ground.<br/>    "Thanks, Nathan." she said, "And sorry I'm late, Mr. Brundle."<br/>    "It's okay, Marinette." David said, "So you two already know each other?"<br/>    "Oh, yeah." Nathaniel said, "We go to school together."<br/>    "Great, then you should have no problem working together." David said.<br/>    "Wait, Marinette's the head of wardrobe?" Nathaniel said.<br/>    "Yeah," Marinette said, "it's gonna be a lot of fun."<br/>    "Well..." Nathaniel paused, "the role definitely suits you."<br/>    "Thanks. We should probably get to work now, right Mr. Brundle?"<br/>    "Glad to see you're so eager to get started." David said as he handed them two booklets, "Get to work whenever you're ready. The sooner, the better!"<br/>    "Okay, Nathan, let's find a table." Marinette said as she walked away, not noticing her sketchbook still on the floor. Nathaniel saw the pink, spotted book on the floor, and quickly grabbed it.<br/>    "Marinette, wait!" he said, "You dropped this." Marinette turned around and saw Nathaniel holding the book.<br/>    "Oh, whoops." she grabbed the book out of his hand, "Thanks." The two of them walked over to the corner of the room, where a table was positioned near a whiteboard. Nathaniel stood in front of the whiteboard and opened the booklet to the end, while Marinette skimmed through her own copy.<br/>    "Okay, it doesn't seem to say much about what the final creature should look like." Nathaniel said.<br/>    "But there are some hints to it as the play goes on." Marinette added, "Yuck, there's a scene where his eyeball falls out?!" Nathaniel flipped back several pages until he found a page that read:</p><div></div><div>
  <p>BARBARA<br/>Philippe, please, you need to see a doctor!<br/></p>
</div><div></div><div>
  <p><br/>PHILIPPE<br/>You don't understand, do you? What's happening to me, it's something that no human has ever experienced before. I'm sure no physician would have any idea what to do.</p>
  <p>Out of nowhere, PHILIPPE screams and puts his hand over his eye. He turns to face U.S. and hunches over, and stops screaming. He removes his hand from his eye, and looks down into his palm.</p>
  <p>PHILIPPE<br/>Oh no.</p>
  <p>BARBARA<br/>What is it?</p>
  <p>PHILIPPE holds out his hand to BARBARA, revealing a human eyeball in his palm.</p>
</div>    "Wow," Nathaniel said, "that is intense."<br/>    "This show is a lot darker than I thought it was going to be." Marinette conceded.<br/>    "Okay, so we've got some details to keep in mind when we design this thing, but at the same time, we have a lot more creative freedom than I was expecting. Hang on, give me a second." Nathaniel picked up a red marker off the shelf below the whiteboard and drew a figure on the board. It had the shape of a human, but hunched such that its shoulders were horizontal to its hips, and with arms as long as its legs. The arms were jointed like a fly, but had human skin and hands. The rear legs, by contrast, were human like in structure, but had the fuzzy texture of fly legs, and terminated in insect feet. From either side of its pencil-thin waist protruded an insectoid limb, one like the arms but ending in a foot, and one like the legs but ending with a hand. The head was human shaped, but the jaw was split down the middle into a pair of mandibles, and it had only one human eye, the other segmented like a fly's eye. When Nathaniel was finished, he turned to look at Marinette, who had turned green at the sight of his sketch.<br/>    "What do you think?" Nathaniel said, almost oblivious to Marinette's visceral reaction.<br/>    "It's... definitely intense." Marinette said, "I'm just kind of concerned that it won't really get the idea across to the people in the back. Or that it won't make for a functioning costume. Or that the audience might vomit at the sight of it."<br/>    "I suppose..." Nathaniel conceded, "maybe I got a bit carried away. I could probably tone it down some, unless you had something different in mind." Marinette stood up and approached the board, prompting Nathaniel to sit down. She picked up a black marker, and drew another figure next to Nathaniel's: hers had the body of a normal human, but the head, left arm, and right leg of a fly, as well as a pair of wings on the back.<br/>    "What do you think of this idea?" Marinette asked.<br/>    "Well..." Nathaniel said, "how do I put this delicately... This probably would've worked fifty years ago... but no one today is going to take it seriously."<br/>    "What do you mean? It's part man, part fly, just what the script says!"<br/>    "I mean, yeah, but it doesn't seem very intimidating, does it?"<br/>    "Come on, Nathan, if you saw this coming towards you in real life, you'd be wishing you wore your brown pants."<br/>    "Well, I guess, but there's a difference between what's scary in real life and what's scary in pictures or on stage. Besides, why would the fusion only affect specific body parts?"<br/>    "At least my design has wings. Your version isn't even a fly, it's a walk." Nathaniel opened his mouth to retort, but instead took a deep breath.<br/>    "Look, bickering will get us nowhere." Nathaniel said, "Maybe we should just take a step back, look at our designs again, maybe rework them some, and reconvene."<br/>    "You're right. Meet you back here in five?"<br/>    "Sounds good."<p>    Adrien Agreste sat in the auditorium, along with several other boys of the same height and build. Some of them made idle chatter, while Adrien sat silently on his own, reviewing his script. Before long, he saw a door beside the stage open, and David and Stuart came through, with the former carrying a bag on his shoulder. Everyone settled down, and David began to speak.<br/>    "Hello, everyone," he said, "glad you could make it. Now, let's just quickly review the audition procedure. I'm going to call you each by name, you're going to come up to the stage, and read from the script selection you've been given."<br/>    "After each performance," Stuart added, "we will share our opinion on it, and once all auditions are finished, we will give our final casting decision." David took a clipboard out of his bag, and looked at the sheet of paper on it.<br/>    "First up, Seth Delambre." David said, and an auburn-haired boy in a leather jacket stood up from his seat, and made his way down the aisle and onto the stage. He carried a single sheet of paper with him, but set it face down on the stage floor before speaking.<br/>    "Scene." Seth said, "'Is the camera rolling? Good. This is Dr. Philippe Langelaan, giving a follow-up report on the teleportation experiment. It has been thirteen days since the initial human trial. As stated in the initial report, the test subject, myself, developed superhuman abilities. Enhanced strength, speed, stamina, the whole nine yards. However, on the seventh day, side effects began to manifest. For example, the hair on my arms became thicker, stiffer, and far more sensitive to the touch. In addition, blood tests show lower quantities of hemoglobin, and most surprisingly, trace amounts of hemocyanin. I know these symptoms seem concerning at first, but I honestly believed that they were mild in comparison to the benefits. At least, that is, until my toenails fell off yesterday morning. Following that episode, I decided to double-check the computer's records, and it seems there was an unexpected contaminant in the initial experiment: a common housefly. I hadn't programmed the computer to teleport two macro-organisms at the same time, so it got confused, and seems to have mixed the two of us together. Now, I don't know how extreme the effect is just yet, but best case scenario, we've just been mixed up at the cellular level, and the fusion is benign. Worst case scenario, we've been fused at the genetic level, and I don't know what's going to happen.' Scene." Seth's monologue was met with mild applause from everyone in the house.<br/>    "Not bad, not bad." David said, "I do, however, have a few critiques."<br/>    "What do you mean?" Seth said.<br/>    "While I appreciate that you were able to recite it from memory, it still felt like you were reciting a script, and not giving an off-the-cuff summary of the test results. Put some more emotion into it! If you were Dr. Langelaan, and you had just found out you might turn into a fly monster, would you be able to keep a straight face during the experiment report?"<br/>    "I don't understand. There aren't any parentheticals telling me to stammer, break down, or anything in the script."<br/>    "True, I understand why you might be confused, but sometimes as an actor, you have to read between the lines, try to see more than what's handed to you."<br/>    "I agree with David's assessment," Stuart said, "the script is a useful tool, but you can't use it as your sole resource. Use a bit of actor's intuition to figure out how a line is supposed to be delivered."<br/>    "This is ridiculous!" Seth said, "Do you know how much time and effort I put in just to memorize these lines?!"<br/>    "I'm sure you worked really hard, but it just wasn't enough." David said.<br/>    "Besides," Stuart added, "we never asked you to memorize the audition piece for precisely this reason. Next!" Seth huffed and stormed off the stage.</p><p>    Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city, a black haired woman in a flowing blue dress stood in the light of a massive window, clutching a feathered fan in her hand.<br/>    "An actor, denied the role of his dreams." she said, "A classic source of raw, primal rage." The woman plucked a feather from the fan with her free hand, and kissed it with her blue lips, turning it blue. She blew it out of her hand, and it drifted out the window.</p><p>    Seth stood in the bathroom of the theater, clutching his script in his tight fist.<br/>    <em>Not enough...</em> he thought, <em>I wasn't enough... who's to say everyone else will be enough?! Why single me out?</em> He tightened his fist, crumpling the script even further, as a feather blew in on an impossible breeze, landing on the sheet of crushed paper, and turning it bluish-black. A pale blue light mask appeared over his face as a voice spoke in his head.<br/>    "Seth Delambre," she said, "I am Mayura. You've been denied that which you desire, a pain I know just as well. Allow me to help you, allow your anger to manifest as a sentimonster, one that will make sure that no one but you will get what it is you want."<br/>    "I'll act in accordance with your direction, Mayura." Seth said. The light mask disappeared, and Seth felt a tickle in the back of his throat. He began to cough, which quickly turned into hacking, until finally, the source of his discomfort emerged: a maggot, just large enough to fit into his mouth, spewed forward from his face and began to squirm on the ground, slowly growing larger and turning a deep, blood red.</p><p>    David continued to sit in his front row seat, looking at the list of candidates, when he heard the auditorium door open behind him. He turned to see Marinette dragging Nathaniel down the aisle, each one carrying their sketchbooks all the way to the front of the house.<br/>    "Hey, Mr. Brundle," Marinette said, "Sorry to interrupt you, but Nathaniel and I have been having a disagreement over the design, and we were hoping you could-"<br/>    "Listen, Marinette," David said, "I'd be more than happy to help you resolve this when I can, but I have auditions to take care of right now."<br/>    "I told you he was busy." Nathaniel muttered.<br/>    "I understand, Mr. Brundle. Sorry, again, for bothering you."<br/>    "It's okay. Just get back to work, see if you can't sort it out on your own." Nathaniel and Marinette nodded and began walking back up the aisle, when she noticed Adrien in the back row.<br/>    "Adrien," she whispered, "I didn't know you were auditioning for this show!"<br/>    "Yeah," Adrien replied, "I'd been thinking about giving acting a shot for a while, but the closest Dad would let me do is that perfume commercial. What are you doing here?"<br/>    "Oh, Mr. Brundle was looking for someone to handle the wardrobe, and I decided it would be a great opportunity to get a bit of experience in professional wardrobe design."<br/>    "Okay," David called, "next on the list is Andre Stathis." Hearing this, Marinette and Nathaniel rushed to the nearest empty seats as a brown-haired boy stood up and proceeded towards the stage, holding a copy of the script. He strode up the steps, and stood center stage.<br/>    "Good to see you again, Andre." David said.<br/>    "Glad to be working with you again." Andre said.<br/>    "Start whenever you're ready." Stuart said.<br/>    "Scene." Andre said, "'Is it rolling? Good. So, this is Dr. Philippe Langelaan, giving a follow-up report on the teleportation experiment.'" Andre continued to recite the monologue, but Nathaniel's attention was drawn away by a humanoid shadow on the top of the cyclorama.<br/>    <em>That's odd.</em> Nathaniel thought, <em>They shouldn't need anyone in the flies for auditions. What's that person doing there?<br/>    </em>"'However, on the seventh day, certain side effects began to manife-'" Andre was cut off by the sound of a stage light falling in front of him, startling both him and the entire audience.<br/>    "What just happened?" Andre said, his body still trembling.<br/>    "I don't know." David said, "We should probably get someone to check on the lighting grid, see about what went wrong, and make sure it doesn't happen again."<br/>    "In the meantime, we should probably not have anyone on the stage." Stuart added. Andre immediately jumped down from the stage and made his way back to his seat.<br/>    "Uh, excuse me for a moment." Nathaniel said to Marinette before standing up and making his way to the back of the auditorium. Instead of exiting through the doors, however, he instead ducked into the house right corridor, where once he was confidently enshadowed, he pulled one side of his jacket open, releasing Nooroo.<br/>    "You saw that shadow too, right?" Nathaniel said, and Nooroo nodded, "There's something fishy going on here. Better check it out. Nooroo, wings rise!" Nathaniel slid his jacket off and tossed it over the railing, revealing a purple brooch on his chest. Nooroo flew into the brooch, and it sprouted a pair of butterfly-like wings. Nathaniel slid his hands over his face and hair, causing a purple cowl with a silver butterfly mask to appear. The purple continued down over his shoulders and onto his chest, where a large black butterfly symbol appeared. Then purple sleeves appeared on his arms, ending in a pair of black gloves with cuffs like butterfly wings. Rounding out his costume was the continuation of the purple down his legs into a pair of black boots, and a silver butterfly net materializing on his hip. The Butterfly ran down the corridor and through the backstage door. He looked up into the rafters, and saw movement. He crouched down and super-jumped up, landing on a catwalk. He ran in the direction of the figure, but found himself alone in the darkness of the wings.<br/>    <i>That's odd.</i> The Butterfly thought, <i>How did he just disappear?</i> He turned to walk back the way he came, when suddenly he came across a metal fork, mounted to the grid below the catwalk, and eaten through at the ends. The Butterfly looked to his left, and saw an identical fork, supporting a stage light. He knelt down to examine it, when he suddenly heard a metallic creaking, which prompted him to run to the stage right side of the catwalk and jump down. He looked back up and saw a shadow walk up to the same metal fork.<br/>    "Don't worry, Dave." the man on the catwalk said, "The frame just rusted through, everything else looks fine."<br/>    <i>Is that guy colorblind?</i> the Butterfly thought, <i>That looked nothing like rust.<br/>    </i>"Okay!" David said, "Let's get this debris cleaned up, then we can get back to auditions."<br/>    <i>Sorry, Marinette, but I'm gonna be a bit busy for a while.</i></p><p>A custodian stood on the stage, sweeping shards of broken glass onto a dust pan. Once everything was collected, he gave a thumbs up to the house, and David picked up his clipboard.<br/>    "Okay, next is Geoff Davis." he said, and a frizzy haired boy stood up from the house and walked up to the stage.<br/>    "You've worked with David before, right?" Stuart asked.<br/>    "Yeah," Geoff said, "mostly bit parts. But I'm hoping to break out as a leading man with this show."<br/>    "Well, best of luck." David said, "Whenever you're ready."<br/>    "Hey, mind if I start offstage?" Geoff said, "I think it would-"<br/>    "Go right ahead." David said, and Geoff wandered stage right into the wings. He closed his eyes and took some deep breaths.<br/>    <i>Just put yourself in his shoes,</i> Geoff thought, <i>what would Philippe be thinking about? Probably envisioning what he'll be turning into.</i> Geoff opened his eyes, <i>Yeah, something like tha-</i> Geoff's train of thought was interrupted by the very thing that started it: the six-foot tall creature standing before him, its blood red compound eyes staring directly at him above the flared labellum, which dripped with a brownish yellow fluid. It had the posture of a human, shoulders over hips, but the entire body was covered in stiff hairs growing out of boney gray plates, and it had four arms, each with two claws forming the hand. The creature approached Geoff, a low buzz echoing in his ears, when suddenly it was swatted in the face by a glowing purple mesh, knocking it onto its back. Geoff turned to see the Butterfly standing beside him, his net held out to one side.<br/>    "Get out of here." he said, "Warn the others." Geoff nodded nervously and ran towards the stage, but before making his escape, he stopped and turned, pulling out his phone as he went. As the giant insect ambled towards him, he snapped a photograph before turning and running again.<br/>    "Monster backstage!" Geoff shouted, "Monster backstage!!"<br/>    "Mr. Davis, what's going on?" Stuart asked as Geoff jumped off the stage.<br/>    "I don't know, I was just preparing backstage, when this thing just came at me! Look, I have a photo to prove it." Geoff held up his phone to Stuart and David's face.<br/>    "My God," David said, "It's... a real life Man-Fly. And you're saying it attacked you?" Geoff nodded.<br/>    "Everyone, out of the house, right now!" David shouted, and everyone in the auditorium scrambled out of their seats and to the exits. Marinette and Adrien, however, stayed behind, ducking into a corridor, allowing their kwamis to reveal themselves.<br/>    "Looks like stage magic has gone too far." Adrien said.<br/>    "It's a shame, really." the black cat kwami, Plagg, said, "I like flies, they're great decomposers."<br/>    "That's the exact reason I hate them." Tikki, the ladybug kwami, said.<br/>    "Whatever our thoughts are, that Man-Fly needs to be stopped." Marinette said, "Tikki, spots on!"<br/>    "Plagg, claws out!" Adrien said. Tikki flew into Marinette's black earrings, and Plagg was sucked into Adrien's silver ring. Marinette ran her hands out from the bridge of her nose, and a red and black-spotted mask appeared over her eyes. Adrien slid two fingers across his face and a black mask materialized. Marinette snapped her arm out to one side, and a red, spotted mesh sleeve appeared over it, while Adrien ran his fingers through his hair, causing two cat ear shaped hairpieces to appear. Adrien snapped both arms out to the sides, and a black leather-like mesh costume appeared around his body. A ladybug-shaped yo-yo appeared on Marinette's costumed hip, while a belt appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around his waist, the excess forming a tail. Ladybug and Cat Noir assumed a fighting stance next to each other.</p><p>    The Man-Fly lunged towards the Butterfly, who thrust the butt of his net into the creature's chest, causing it to stumble backward. He swung at it with his net again, knocking it to the ground. The Man-Fly flipped over its arms, landing on its feet again, only for a black string to wrap around its arm, and pull him back down with a firm yank. The Butterfly followed the string to the red hand that held it: Ladybug's hand.<br/>    "Enter Ladybug and Cat Noir, stage left." Cat Noir said.<br/>    "Thanks for keeping this thing at bay, Butterfly." Ladybug said.<br/>    "Thanks for showing up." the Butterfly said. Ladybug tugged the string and the yo-yo rewound into her hand. The Man-Fly scuttled to its feet and jumped at Ladybug, grabbing onto her wrists and trying to push her down. Ladybug, however, quickly shoved it away. Cat Noir swung his stick at the creature from behind, but it ducked to avoid it.<br/>    "What? How?" Cat Noir asked as the Man-Fly turned to face him. It jumped towards him, but was knocked out of the air by a sideways strike from the Butterfly's net.<br/>    "Must have superhuman hearing or something." the Butterfly said as he jabbed the Man-Fly in the stomach with his net handle. Ladybug ran towards the monster and threw a punch at its face, but her fist was caught within its claws. With a low buzz, it threw Ladybug directly into the wall, leaving a crater in the plaster.<br/>    "And superhuman strength." Ladybug added before falling out of the crater. The Man-Fly rubbed its arms together as it walked towards Ladybug, its mouth drippings corroding the floor beneath it. Ladybug fumbled for her yo-yo and threw it up into the air.<br/>    "Lucky Charm!" she cried as the plastic circle spun over her head, releasing a swarm of ladybugs that gathered around a ball of pink energy before dropping a cardboard box into her hands. The box had no writing, nor any window to see inside: it was just red with black spots. Ladybug looked back up to see the Man-Fly looming over her, buzzing hungrily as it bent down. Before it could touch her, the hairs on the creature's side swept ever so slightly towards its exoskeleton. The Man-Fly jumped straight up just as Cat Noir's staff swung right through the space it once occupied. The three heroes looked up at the ceiling just in time to see the Man-Fly scamper across the ceiling, into darkness.<br/>    "Are you okay, Ma...m'lady?" Cat Noir asked.<br/>    "I'm... I'm fine." Ladybug said. The Butterfly looked down at the corroded spots on the floor.<br/>    "Well, now we know what happened to that stage light." he said.<br/>    "The Man-Fly tried to drop a stage light on Andre?" Cat Noir asked.<br/>    "It must be going after the other auditioners." Ladybug deduced, "But why?"<br/>    "I think I know why." Cat Noir said, "Before Andre, someone named Seth was up for an audition, but got rejected. Maybe Mayura saw how upset he was and created a monster from his anger."<br/>    "Mayura?" the Butterfly asked.<br/>    "The holder of the Peacock Miraculous." Ladybug explained, "Menken told me about her after we defeated that giant flytrap."<br/>    "And you told Cat Noir about her, but not me?"<br/>    "Sorry, it's just I haven't been able to contact you since then."<br/>    "It's okay, we're getting off-topic anyway. What's that Lucky Charm there?" Ladybug looked down at the box in her hands, and opened up the top. Inside were thick cardboard cylinders, with small fabric loops on the top. Ladybug tugged on one of the loops, and the cardboard top lifted off as the end of a paper ribbon emerged.<br/>    "Flypaper?" the Butterfly said.<br/>    "Well, this would be great if we were dealing with a normal housefly," Cat Noir said, "but I don't see how useful it is against a 180 pound Man-Fly."<br/>    "I've got an idea," Ladybug said, "but we're gonna need some help."</p><p>    David sat at the semicircular table, his eyes firmly locked onto the door, while Stuart, Edward and Charles all stood in a corner, watching over the other auditioners.<br/>    "David," Stuart said, "we seem to be missing one, Adrien Agreste."<br/>    "Where do you think he could be?" David asked.<br/>    "Tough to say. I hope that at the very least he got out of the auditorium." As if on cue, David heard a knocking on the door. He stood up and creeped towards it, and opened it a crack. Adrien was on the other side.<br/>    "Mr. Brundle?" he said.<br/>    "Adrien, you're okay!" David said.<br/>    "Yeah, I must've got separated from the rest in the shuffle. Anyway, Ladybug says she needs us both out in the auditorium."<br/>    "Are you sure? That sounds dangerous."<br/>    "There's no time to explain. Just go with it."<br/>    "Well, she hasn't let us down so far." David turned to Stuart, "Watch the door, make sure that thing doesn't get in here."<br/>    "Right." Stuart said as David exited the room.</p><p>    Adrien stood center stage in the auditorium, David sitting in the same spot in the front row. Up in the flies, Ladybug and the Butterfly strung several ribbons of flypaper from the flies all the way to just a centimeter above the deck.<br/>    "How's your power level?" the Butterfly said as quietly as possible.<br/>    "Should be able to at least get me through the battle." Ladybug affirmed, "But we need to be quick."<br/>    "Right." The Butterfly let the last ribbon fall to the ground, and they both ducked into the shadows.<br/>    "Okay," David said, "next on the list is Adrien Agreste. Start whenever you're ready, begin and end by saying 'scene'."<br/>    "Scene." Adrien said, "'Is the camera rolling? Good. This is Dr. Philippe Langelaan, giving a follow-up report on the teleportation experiment.'" As Adrien continued to read, Ladybug kept a close eye on Adrien, while the Butterfly watched the ceiling.<br/>    "'Now, I know these symptoms seem concerning at first,'" Adrien continued, "'but I honestly believed that they were mild in comparison to the benefits. At least... until my toenails fell off yesterday morning." The Butterfly nudged Ladybug with his net handle, and pointed it at the ceiling. Ladybug looked up to see the Man-Fly, crawling across the ceiling of the auditorium. Ladybug nodded towards Adrien, and the Butterfly gripped his net tightly.<br/>    "'Best case scenario,'" Adrien continued, "'we've just been mixed up at the cellular level, and the fusion is benign. Worst case scenario--'" the monologue was cut off by the Man-Fly dropping from the ceiling. But it didn't land on Adrien: instead, it tackled David to the house floor, his startled face reflected in the thousands of tiny photoreceptors. Adrien ran towards backstage, but stopped when he saw the fly ribbons hanging down.<br/>    "I thought it was going to attack Adrien." the Butterfly said.<br/>    "It must've caught onto our plan." Ladybug said before throwing her yo-yo around the pipe. She swung down and kicked the Man-Fly off of David, knocking down some of the seats in the process. David scrambled back to his feet and ran towards the back of the house, while the Butterfly deployed a pair of wings from his back and jumped from the catwalk, gliding down to the stands and smacking the Man-Fly with his net shaft. The Man-Fly spat a glop of yellow liquid at the Butterfly, but it was stopped by a glowing red disk. The Butterfly glanced aside to see Ladybug spinning her yo-yo in front of him, her earring only displaying two dots.<br/>    "Ladybug, you're--"<br/>    "I know," she said, "I hope we can take care of this thing in time, but it's going to be hard without those fly ribbon traps." The Butterfly glanced at the fly ribbons, and then at David.<br/>    "Probably," he said, "but I might just have a back-up plan." The Butterfly knocked the Man-Fly to the floor with his net shaft, and held his right hand out to his side. He waited two seconds, but nothing happened. The Man-Fly cocked his head to the side, and Ladybug raised her eyebrow.<br/>    "It... might take a second." the Butterfly said. He waited a few more seconds, and sure enough, a small white butterfly fluttered in through the house door, landing in his hand. The Butterfly clasped his hands around the insect, and purple energy gathered between them.<br/>    "Fly, Tenshi!" he said as he opened his hands, releasing the purple butterfly. The tenshi fluttered towards David, and phased into his clipboard. A purple light mask appeared around his eyes, in the shape of a butterfly.<br/>    "Araneas, this is the Butterfly. You're the only person who can save this show now, so we'd appreciate a hand or eight."<br/>    "This show must go on," David said, "even if I have to give my life for it!" David stood up, and was enveloped by purple energy. When the glow disappeared, he was dressed in a skintight jumpsuit, banded in brown and orange, with a butterfly shaped mask dotted with six false eyes. The Man-Fly began to creep towards Ladybug and the Butterfly yet again, making its now-familiar buzz as it went. It coiled its legs back, rubbed its arms together, and leaped towards them, but suddenly it was stopped in mid-air. Ladybug and the Butterfly turned to see Araneas with his arm outstretched, a thin strand of braided white silk extending out from near his elbow. The Man-Fly wriggled and jerked, struggling to break free of the sticky substance. Finally, it managed to get an arm free, only for it to get snagged in another invisible web line. The Man-Fly turned to stare at Araneas, and swung its legs up onto the web lines, gripping by the very tips of its claws. It pushed its legs down, pulled its arms up, and broke free from the sticky grip. It spat a glob of digestive fluid at Araneas, but he jumped into the air, easily seven meters, tethering himself to the ground with one arm, and shooting another web line with the other. The fluid struck the front of the stage, eating through the wooden paneling, while Araneas landed feet first on the ceiling. He joined the two web lines on his arms together, grabbed them with his left hand, and shot another tether with his right arm. He jumped off the ceiling, and kicked the Man-Fly in the face before landing on the wall. The Man-Fly buzzed angrily and jumped, opening its foot claws as it went, but before it could tackle Araneas, it found itself caught at the junction of the three web lines. The Man-Fly struggled yet again, and managed to get one arm free, but its torso was still firmly stuck. It reached out towards the wall, but the arm was caught yet again, this time in a crosswise web line, joining two of the base three. The Man-Fly continued to push and pull on the web, but soon discovered that not only was it stuck, but the web was continuing to grow. It looked up to see Araneas, crawling around the web lines, making more and more strands, and more and more cross-members, until the Man-Fly found itself tangled in a full-sized spider web. Araneas jumped down to the center of the web, and smirked at the Man-Fly, who's buzzing had gone from angry to fearful. Araneas grabbed hold of the Man-Fly's arm, and spun the creature around, wrapping it in a cocoon of silk. Araneas jumped down and walked up to Ladybug, the Butterfly, and Adrien.<br/>    "Pound it!" the four said in unison as their fists collided.<br/>    "Nice thinking, Butterfly." Ladybug said.<br/>    "It's the same principle as the fly ribbon," the Butterfly conceded, "but much more versatile." Ladybug's earring beeped again: one dot now.<br/>    "Oh, I gotta find Seth, and fast." she said, "Bug out." Ladybug ran towards the exit, careful to duck whenever she saw a web line.</p><p>    Ladybug ran past the boy's bathroom, when she heard a loud crash, like glass shattering and falling to the ground.<br/>    <i>Well, that didn't take long.</i> she thought as she approached the room. She rapped quickly on the door.<br/>    "Seth?" she said.<br/>    "What do you want?" came Seth's voice on the other side. Ladybug tentatively pushed the door open, and found Seth standing in front of the mirror, with bleeding knuckles and surrounded by glass shards.<br/>    "I'm not here to hurt you, Seth," she said, "I just need to take care of that feather."<br/>    "Fine," he grumbled, "you've ruined everything anyway." Seth threw his script at Ladybug's face, but she caught it before it could hit her. She tore the paper in half, and the blue feather emerged. She opened up her yo-yo, and swept the feather into the pool of pink energy. The yo-yo closed back up for a moment, and then reopened, releasing a harmless white feather.<br/>    "I'm sorry you didn't get the part, Seth." Ladybug said, "It must hurt really bad." Seth's scowl faded into a proper frown, and he nodded.<br/>    "Well, the best you can do now is just, keep trying." she continued, "At the very least, now you know how you can be better." Ladybug's earring began beeping rapidly, and she bolted out of the bathroom.<br/>    "Miraculous Ladybug!" she shouted as she threw the cardboard box into the air, releasing a swarm of ladybugs as she transformed back into Marinette. The ladybugs flew through the building, repairing the stage light, the corroded floors, and the damaged seats, as well as erasing the webs in the now-Man-Fly-free auditorium. Even the bathroom mirror was repaired, and Seth's knuckles were healed.</p><p>    "Impressive." Mayura said, still standing in front of her window, "You've managed to best me yet again. But no matter, one day, I will destroy all three of you, and nothing will be able to stand in my way."</p><p>    Stuart stood watch at the door, the other auditioners still huddled in the corner with Charles and Edward, when he heard a knock at the door. He opened the door a crack, and saw Marinette gasping for breath.<br/>    "Marinette?" Stuart said, "Where were you?"<br/>    "I must've fallen behind and gotten lost." she said, "Is Adrien here?"<br/>    "He actually did come by here earlier, but he said that Ladybug needed him and David for something. I hope they're both okay."<br/>    "Better than okay." David's voice said behind Marinette. Marinette turned around, and Stuart opened the door, and both saw David leading Adrien towards the door.<br/>    "Adrien!" Marinette cried as she ran towards him, grabbing him in a bear hug.<br/>    "David, what happened?" Stuart asked.<br/>    "I helped defeat that monster," David said, "and Adrien gave the best audition I've seen so far today."<br/>    "That's good to hear. Now, as for the rest..."<br/>    "Yes, I think it would be best to postpone the rest of the auditions until next week. For now, you all can just go home." David's words were met with a collective sigh of relief from the other boys, who all stood up and filed out the door. As they left, David felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Seth standing behind him.<br/>    "Mr. Brundle?" he said, "I just wanted to apologize for lashing out like that."<br/>    "All is forgiven, Seth." David said, "I can see you have a lot of potential. Just keep working at it, and you'll do just fine." David and Seth both smiled, and Seth walked out with the others. Marinette exited the room, but bumped into Nathaniel on the way out.<br/>    "Oh, sorry Nathan." she said.<br/>    "It's okay, Marinette." he replied, "Hey, I've been thinking over some of your ideas, and I've come up with a couple good designs. Would you mind if, after I get home, I sketch them out and e-mail them to you?"<br/>    "That sounds great. Here's my address..." Marinette took out her notebook and scribbled "mari_d-c@gigamail.com". She tore off the scrap of paper and handed it to Nathaniel.<br/>    "Thanks." Nathaniel said, "See you next week." Nathaniel turned to the exit and walked outside. Nooroo popped out of his inside jacket pocket.<br/>    "You realize what just happened, right?" he said, "You just got Marinette's e-mail!"<br/>    "It's just for work stuff." Nathaniel retorted, "Besides, she's with Adrien."<br/>    "But still, when was the last time you used your e-mail for anything other than art sites?"<br/>    "You know, you've got a point there. I think you deserve a berry for that."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Wheelociraptor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    Nathaniel sat at his desk, his head resting on the drawing board, and his jacket draped over a bedpost. Scattered across his desk and floor are several drawings of fly-human hybrids: some rough, some fully colored and inked; some mostly fly-like, some more humanoid. A small ray of sunlight broke through his curtains and landed directly on his closed eyelid. The redhead squirmed in his seat and picked up his head.<br/>    <i>What time is it?</i> he thought as he dug around his desk for his phone. He pressed the unlock button, and the room was filled with blue light, blinding to Nathaniel's unprepared eyes. When he finally brought himself to look directly at the screen, he was shocked to see the numbers "13:53".<br/>    "Did I seriously sleep for..." Nathaniel paused, "wait, how long was I asleep?"<br/>    "About ten hours." said a voice through a pile of papers.<br/>    "Nooroo, where are you?" Nathaniel said, and a small purple butterfly creature phased through one of the sketches and into Nathaniel's field of vision.<br/>    "You need a better sleep schedule." it said.<br/>    "Maybe you're right." Nathaniel said, cradling his forehead. He took another look at his phone screen: two missed calls, both listed under the name "Alix".<br/>    "Who's Alix?" Nooroo asked.<br/>    "Someone I know from school." Nathaniel replied.<br/>    "A friend?"<br/>    "I wouldn't quite say that. I mean, we don't actually hang out the way me and Pat did, but I suppose we get along pretty well. I should see what she's calling about." He unlocked his phone screen, opened the phone app, and placed a call to Alix.<br/>    "Nathan!" a female voice said on the other end, "Finally decided to stop ignoring me?"<br/>    "No, I wasn't ignoring you, I just-"<br/>    "I'm kidding. I'm sure you just fell asleep at 3:00 working on some art project."<br/>    "I did not stay up until 3:00."<br/>    "I'm sorry, 2:00?"<br/>    "4:00." he muttered, and Alix laughed.<br/>    "I'll stop ribbing you now, I'm sorry."<br/>    "It's okay. What's up?"<br/>    "Well, I'm gonna be in this big inline skating race tomorrow, and I thought you'd be interested in coming to see me compete."<br/>    "Sure, sounds like fun! What time?"<br/>    "Race starts at noon at the sports field. Gonna set an alarm?" Nathaniel chuckled.<br/>    "I'm gonna go grab some lunch. See you at the track." Nathaniel hung up the phone and stumbled towards the bedroom door.</p>
<p>    Alix sat on a bench by the track, tying the laces on her rollerblades. She turned around to see Marinette and Adrien on the other side of the fence that separated the track from the spectator area.<br/>    "Hey, glad you could make it." she said, "This count as a date?"<br/>    "Depends on who else shows up." Adrien joked, and Marinette chuckled.<br/>    "Good luck with the race." Marinette said.<br/>    "No room for luck, I'm afraid." Alix said, "It's all about skill, effort, and training."<br/>    "If you insist." Marinette said, "Come on, let's find a seat."<br/>    "See you on the track, Alix." Adrien said, and he and Marinette went off into the stands. Alix stood up and began to do some stretches, when she saw Nathaniel walking up to the fence.<br/>    "Glad you could make it." she said.<br/>    "Me too." the redhead replied.<br/>    "So what have you been up to? Lot of drawing, I assume."<br/>    "Yeah. I actually got a job doing design work for a local theater troupe."<br/>    "Oh, I think Marinette told me about that. You're working on <i>The Man-Fly</i> now, right?"<br/>    "Yeah. It's a lot of fun, we have a lot of creative freedom over the design."<br/>    "Racers to starting positions." a voice said over a loudspeaker, "The first heat will begin in five minutes."<br/>    "I guess that's my cue." Alix said, "We can keep talking later, sound good?"<br/>    "Uh, sure. Good luck out there."<br/>    "No room for luck, red." Alix said before wheeling towards the track, along with nine other people.</p>
<p>    Nathaniel sat a few seats down from Marinette and Adrien, one row back from the front. Alix stood at the starting line with the other racers, right foot pointed forward, left foot to the side.<br/>    "Okay folks, it's time for the first race of the day." the announcer said, "Racers on your marks?" Alix squinted her eyes as she tensed her leg muscles. The referee fired the starting gun, and Alix pushed off with the other racers. After a brief running start, all the racers seemed to unify their rhythms as they got into a linear formation. Alix was seventh from the front, but as they completed the first lap, she pulled towards the left and moved forward three places, rejoining the formation as the second lap began. She remained in fourth place throughout the second lap, but at the beginning of the third lap, she pulled back out to the left. She pushed past the third racer, then the second. Finally, she was neck and neck with the lead racer, a man in a blue suit with a white helmet.</p>
<p>    Then she missed a step.</p>
<p>    Alix's left foot flew backwards past her right, but made no contact with the ground. Now without any stable footing, Alix fell down, arms-first, onto the track with a loud thud. The spectators collectively gasped at the sight. Alix tried to stand back up, but was met with a sharp pain in her right arm, and fell back to the ground.<br/>    "Come on, Alix!" Marinette shouted, "Get back up, you can do it!" Alix tried again, this time putting all her weight onto her left arm. However, her skates glided too freely on the ground, and she couldn't balance. The line of racers sped past her as she fell to the ground yet again. Alix made one last effort to push herself back up, but was knocked down in the wake of the other racers' final lap. The man in blue crossed the line first, followed by a woman in a half-red, half yellow suit, and another woman in a green suit. It wasn't until the entire line of racers had completed the final lap that Alix had finally managed to return to her feet, clutching her bruised arm as she skated off into a secluded area. As Nathaniel watched her leave, he felt a mild chill in his chest.</p>
<p>    Mayura stood in an empty room, bathed in light from the sun as she gazed out at the entire city of Paris.<br/>    "I sense two layers of pain." she said, "A physical injury that bruises pride as much as flesh. She clearly needs my help to recover." Mayura plucked a feather from her fan and kissed it, turning it blue. She released it, and it glided on the breeze into the world.</p>
<p>    Alix sat back against the wall, still clutching her arm as a tear ran down her face. The blue feather landed on the toe of her right rollerskate, and a blue light mask appeared around her eyes.<br/>    "Alix," the voice in her head said, "I am Mayura. You've had your pride wounded, along with your arm. Let me help you."<br/>    "No, I won't be used to hurt anyone again!" Alix said.<br/>    "Let your humiliation manifest itself into a swift sentimonster, that will help you reclaim what you've lost." The light mask disappeared, and a pair of large discs appeared on top of Alix's tread marks.</p>
<p>    Nathaniel walked from the aisle to his empty seat, looking confused. Out the corner of his eye, he spotted Marinette and Adrien squeezing their way over to their seats from the opposite aisle.<br/>    "Hey," he said, "have you seen Alix?"<br/>    "Not since the race." Marinette replied.<br/>    "You think she's alright?"<br/>    "I hope so," Adrien said, "but that looked like it hurt pretty bad."<br/>    "Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer said, "it's time for round two." Nathaniel reluctantly returned to his seat as another group of ten racers came up to the starting line.<br/>    "Racers on your marks?" he said, and after a few moments the starting gun went off again. The racers pushed off and got into a line, just like in the last round. However, as the racers completed the first lap, a woman in a black suit leading the pack, an eleventh shape appeared in Nathaniel's line of sight: a man-sized raptor, adorned with black, pink, and green feathers, and with wheels instead of feet.<br/>    <i>Another one of Mayura's?</i> Nathaniel thought, <i>What's it doing here?</i> The dinosaur pushed off from the starting line and sped around the track. It passed the line of racers, knocking them all down with a swipe of its super strong arm. Nathaniel jumped to his feet and ran for the aisle, and half of the crowd followed his lead, scrambling for the exit. Nathaniel, however, turned away from the crowd, and ran in the opposite direction until he turned a corner behind a wall. Nooroo flew out of his jacket pocket.<br/>    "That's a rather strange sentimonster." Nooroo said.<br/>    "Mayura must've gotten to Alix." Nathaniel said, "I hope she's okay."<br/>    "Well, there's only one thing we can do now."<br/>    "You're right. Nooroo, wings rise!" Nathaniel tossed his jacket onto the ground, revealing a purple brooch pinned to his shirt. Nooroo flew into the brooch, and it sprouted a pair of butterfly wings. Nathaniel ran his hands across his face and over his hair, and a purple cowl with a silver butterfly on the face appeared. He spread his arms out, and a pair of purple sleeves extended down to his hands, ending with a pair of black gloves with winged cuffs. The purple continued to extend down his torso, and down his legs, where a pair of wing-cuffed boots appeared on his feet. A pair of wings sprouted from the back of his suit, and a silver net appeared in his hand. He twirled the net around with his fingers, and assumed a fighting stance.</p>
<p>    The Butterfly ran out onto the field just as Ladybug and Cat Noir jumped out from the stands and onto the track. The raptor turned the corner and skated right towards them. Ladybug threw her yo-yo at it, but it quickly skated off to one side, avoiding the red projectile. Cat Noir ran at the creature and swung his staff, but it simply grabbed onto the other and threw him over its head, not even slowing down. It crossed the finish line and spun around, striking Ladybug to the ground with its tail.<br/>    "It's too fast." Ladybug said.<br/>    "About what I'd expect from putting a Velociraptor on wheels." Cat Noir said. The Butterfly jumped behind the raptor and swung the butt of his net at the creature's neck, knocking it down to the ground. The Butterfly approached the dinosaur, but it kicked him in the shin with its wheel foot, causing him to fall to his knee. It scrambled back to its feet and skated over to him, baring its sharp teeth. It opened its mouth and coiled its neck back.<br/>    "Hey! Wheelociraptor!" Cat Noir said, prompting the raptor to turn away from the Butterfly, "A cat's a way more substantial meal than a butterfly." The creature smiled as it skated towards Cat Noir.<br/>    "Um, kitty?" Ladybug said, "Did you... think this play through?"<br/>    "Of course I did, m'lady." Cat Noir said, "I was just going to... uh..." the dinosaur drew closer, "No, I didn't." Cat Noir turned around and ran, but the monster caught up with little effort and grabbed him by the throat. The raptor let out a low rasp and opened its jaws, only for its eyes to dart away from Cat Noir and towards the fleeing racers. It dropped the leather-clad hero and skated to intercept them. The Wheelociraptor growled, and pointed back at the track with its head.<br/>    "Yo-you want us to-to race you?" a man in a green and blue suit asked. The Wheelociraptor nodded its head, and the racers all reluctantly skated towards the track, when Ladybug landed in front of the Wheelociraptor.<br/>    "Don't listen to it." she said, "Get out of here now!" Ladybug swung her yo-yo at the Wheelociraptor, but it skated out of the way and struck her with its tail. Ladybug fell to the ground, and the Wheelociraptor jumped on top of her. It turned its head back to the racers and aggressively pointed to the track. The racers all skated over to the track, and the Wheelociraptor followed them, stomping hard on Ladybug's gut as it went. Cat Noir ran over to Ladybug and grabbed her by the arm.<br/>    "Are you okay?" he said. Ladybug used Cat Noir's arm to pull herself back up.<br/>    "I will be." she said.<br/>    "Take as long as you need. We should be able to hold him off." Cat Noir turned and ran back to the track, where the skaters were all lined up at the starting line. The Wheelociraptor let out a loud screech, and the race was on. The raptor took an immediate lead, while the other racers formed the usual line. Cat Noir split his staff and ran around the track in the direction opposite the racers. He swung his sticks at the oncoming dinosaur, but it simply headbutted him away. The Butterfly ran in from its side and swung his net at the Wheelociraptor, but it simply sped up to avoid it, and instead the next leading skater tripped on the shaft.<br/>    "Sorry about that." he said as he lifted the net off the track. The red clad skater stood back up and pushed back off, not even saying a word. Cat Noir stood up.<br/>    "We need a better strategy." Cat Noir said.<br/>    "Got any ideas?" the Butterfly replied as the Wheelociraptor finished its second lap, "I'm fresh out."<br/>    "How about a tenshi?"<br/>    "I don't think that'd be such a good idea. Everyone's either too far away to be of any help, or moving too fast for me to get a fix on. Plus, even if they stopped moving, Feathers here will probably just snatch it out of the air and eat it. It'd just be a waste of energy."<br/>    "Oh, good point." Cat Noir scratched his chin as the Wheelociraptor completed the third lap.<br/>    "Lucky Charm?" the Butterfly asked.<br/>    "Probably, hopefully Ladybug's doing better." The Wheelociraptor completed another lap, knocking a skater in red off the track as it went by.<br/>    "Worth a try." The Butterfly and Cat Noir turned and ran towards Ladybug, who was leaning back against a wall, her hand on her stomach.<br/>    "Feeling better, bugaboo?" Cat Noir said.<br/>    "Yeah, I think so." she said, "Someone need a stroke of luck?"<br/>    "If it's not too much trouble." the Butterfly said.<br/>    "Lucky Charm!" Ladybug threw her yo-yo into the air, releasing a swarm of ladybugs. The ladybugs flew around a ball of pink energy, and a dozen eggs in a red and black-spotted carton dropped into her hands.<br/>    "Eggs?" she said.<br/>    "Is it telling us to look up a GigaTube tutorial?" Cat Noir asked. Ladybug looked around at her surroundings. She took note of the downed skater's rollerblades, the Wheelociraptor, the track, the Butterfly's net, and the eggs themselves.<br/>    "I have an idea." Ladybug said as she ran towards the track. She stopped by the downed skater.<br/>    "Excuse me, could I borrow your skates?"<br/>    "Well... I'm down for the count, anyway." the skater said as he reached down to his feet.</p>
<p>    The Wheelociraptor skidded across the finish line, completing its final lap. It let out a loud cackle as the other racers completed their own fourth lap. The creature curled its feathers in a boisterous fashion, when it heard a voice.<br/>    "How about a real challenge?" Ladybug said, standing on her borrowed rollerblades, clutching the carton of eggs under her arm, "One on one. You and me. Sound like fun?" The Wheelociraptor curled its lips into an approximation of a smile and skated over to the starting line. Ladybug joined the dinosaur at the starting line, the Butterfly and Cat Noir standing on the sidelines. The raptor screamed, and the race was on. In the beginning, Ladybug was only a hair's width behind the raptor, but after the first turn, the dinosaur took a two meter lead against her. Ladybug, however, grabbed an egg out of the carton and rolled it forwards, past the Wheelociraptor. This caught the creature's attention, and it quickly dove for the egg. The monster grabbed the egg and stuffed it into its mouth, ignoring Ladybug speed right past it into the second turn. Once finished, it immediately returned to the race, Ladybug right next to it once again. After going around the curve once again, the Wheelociraptor shot away from Ladybug, across the lap line. Ladybug, however, threw another egg down the track, distracting the dinosaur once again as it gobbled the small oval down. Ladybug overtook the raptor once again, leaving it in the metaphorical dust. The raptor finished up its snack, and set its sight back on the race. It pushed off after Ladybug and quickly overtook her, but she continued on as if nothing was wrong. The Wheelociraptor glanced back for a split second, but continued around the curve. Ladybug went around the curve and tossed another egg down the track. The Wheelociraptor dove for it, and Ladybug sped past as it ate. As the Wheelociraptor finished its snack, however, it quickly realized that Ladybug was a half a lap ahead of it. The dinosaur pushed off, egg white still dribbling from its teeth as Ladybug crossed the line. It quickly overtook her, but Ladybug seemed strangely undeterred. The Wheelociraptor continued along its way, and managed to complete a full lap before Ladybug finished hers, but when she did finish her lap, she simply stopped. The Wheelociraptor turned its head towards her, confused, which gave the Butterfly the opportunity to catch the dinosaur in his net.<br/>    "I win, feather-head." Ladybug said as the Wheelociraptor swung its claws futilely at the netting. The three heroes came together and bumped fists.<br/>    "Pound it!" they said.<br/>    "You had a really good strategy there." Cat Noir said.<br/>    "I'll keep a hold on this thing," the Butterfly said, standing on the net shaft, "you go help the girl."<br/>    "Right." Ladybug leaped away from the scene.</p>
<p>    Alix leaned against the wall of an empty corridor, her arm now swollen and the same shade of blue as her glowing rollerskates. She saw Ladybug come around the corner, and slid down to a seated position.<br/>    "I'm sorry, Ladybug." Alix cried, "She got the better of me."<br/>    "It happens to everyone, Alix." Ladybug said as she walked over, "Need any help getting those off?" Alix nodded, and Ladybug got down onto her knees to untie the skates. Once both were off, Ladybug snapped the blades off of them, releasing the blue feather. Ladybug opened her yo-yo like a ladybug shell and swung it around in a circle as the feather drifted on the breeze. She threw her yo-yo at the feather, and it closed around it.<br/>    "Gotcha!" Ladybug said as she pulled her yo-yo back into her hand. She opened the yo-yo back up, and a plain white feather blew out.<br/>    "Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug threw the carton of eggs into the air, and a swarm of ladybugs flew out, fixing all the collateral damage from the fighting, including Alix's skates, and healing all the racers who were injured by the Wheelociraptor. Her earring beeped, two dots remaining.<br/>    "I gotta bug out, but you should probably get that arm looked at." Ladybug ran back around the corner, out of Alix's sight.</p>
<p>    "You win this round, Ladybug." Mayura said, "But don't get cocky, for it is the slow and steady one who wins the race."</p>
<p>    The Butterfly watched the Wheelociraptor continue to claw at his net, when suddenly the black and green beast disappeared, and the net collapsed to the ground.<br/>    "Well, I guess our work here is done." Cat Noir said.<br/>    "Looks like it. I should probably get going now, I'm needed elsewhere." The Butterfly grabbed his net and ran towards the large doorway, bumping into Ladybug as he went.<br/>    "Oh, sorry about that." he said.<br/>    "It's okay." she said, "It's probably my fault anyway, I'm kind of in a hurry."<br/>    "Me too." The Butterfly continued on his way as Ladybug's earrings beeped again.<br/>    "We should probably find you a less conspicuous place to change back." Cat Noir said before leading Ladybug into another corridor, out of the other racers' sight.</p>
<p>    The Butterfly stopped at the end of the dark corridor and peeked around the corner. He saw Alix in the same position Ladybug did: slumped on the wall, clutching a bruised arm.<br/>    "Nooroo," he whispered, "wings fall." His costume disappeared, and was replaced with his normal clothes. Nathaniel ran past the corner, and looked towards her.<br/>    "There you are." he said as he ran in her direction, "I've been looking all over for you. Are you okay?"<br/>    "I... I don't think so." Alix said as she showed her arm to him.<br/>    "Ooh, yeah, we need to get you to a hospital." Nathaniel reached out, and Alix grabbed with her left hand to pull herself up. "Sorry I took so long, but I was... on the other side of the field, and it felt too risky to try and get across until now." The redhead took out his phone and pulled up a navigator app.<br/>    "Say, weren't you wearing a jacket before?"<br/>    "Oh, uh... I must've left it in the stands. I can come back for it later, let's go." Nathaniel led Alix down the hall as he took his phone out of his pocket. He tapped a contact reading "<span class="u">Pere</span>", and put the phone up to his ear.<br/>    "Papa," he said, "we've got a situation."</p>
<p>    Nathaniel sat in the hospital waiting room, twirling a purple marker in his hands. He heard a door creak behind him, and turned to see Alix come out, a hot pink cast on her arm.<br/>    "How did it go?" he said.<br/>    "Your dad said I fractured my wrist." Alix replied, "I'm gonna be in this cast for a couple months."<br/>    "Probably won't be doing much rollerblading this summer then, huh?"<br/>    "Definitely not, the doctor was very clear about that."<br/>    "That's gotta suck."<br/>    "Yeah." Alix said, looking off to the side, "I suppose it's not the worst. I mean, I do a lot of skating already..." Nathaniel glanced down too, and his eyes landed on the marker in his hand.<br/>    "Hey, mind if I... sign?" he said, holding up the pen.<br/>    "Huh?" Alix said as she looked back up, "Oh, of course." Alix held out her arm, and Nathaniel uncapped his marker. He gently grasped her hand, and wrote his name in a stylized script. Alix looked down at the signature, and she smiled. She looked back up at Nathaniel, and realized that he was still holding her hand. He awkwardly let go and giggled nervously.<br/>    "My parents should be here at any moment." Alix said, "Thanks for helping me out back there. You're a real friend, Nath."<br/>    "Oh, uh, you're welcome." Nathaniel replied. Alix turned and walked towards the door.<br/>    <i>I guess it's official. </i>Nathaniel thought, <i>We really are friends.</i></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Slithermilk</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    Ladybug and Cat Noir leapt from rooftop to rooftop in pursuit of a giant mammoth, the Butterfly gliding down alongside them. The purple-clad hero landed on the back of the elephant creature, gripping onto its neck with his legs, and thrust the butt end of his net into its forehead. The mammoth reared up in pain, throwing the Butterfly off its back in the process, but it quickly regained its bearings and continued its rampage through the city streets.<br/>    "I'll give him this," the Butterfly said, "his fur is nice and soft." The Butterfly ran after the mammoth and jumped up to the rooftops with Ladybug and Cat Noir.<br/>    "Any ideas?" Cat Noir asked. Ladybug looked down at the mammoth's feet, and then at her yo-yo.<br/>    "Yeah, I got one." Ladybug said as she dove off of the roof, tossing her yo-yo around the mammoth's foot. Once it was firmly wrapped around, she grabbed onto the yo-yo and unwound it some more, then ran in circles around the mammoth.<br/>    "I see Ladybug and I have similar taste in movies." The Butterfly said. Ladybug pulled tight on the yo-yo string, and the mammoth collapsed to the ground, knocking it unconscious. Cat Noir and the Butterfly jumped off the roof, and approached Ladybug.<br/>    "Well, he's definitely down now." Cat Noir said.<br/>    "But we still need to find and purify that..." the Butterfly stalled, "what did you call it?"<br/>    "The amok." Ladybug reminded him.<br/>    "Oh yeah. How are we gonna find it?" Ladybug looked at the mammoth, and looked in the direction it was heading.<br/>    "It seems to have been heading for Le Grand Paris." she said.<br/>    "Gee, I wonder who there it could've been targeting?" the Butterfly snarked.<br/>    "It probably starts with a 'C', and ends with a 'hloe'."<br/>    "Let's go ask her some questions." Cat Noir said as he ran off in the direction of the high rise hotel. Ladybug threw her yo-yo at a lamp post and swung off, and the Butterfly jumped up to a rooftop, wings out.</p><p>    "You seriously think I'm involved in that whole mammoth business?" the blonde in the yellow jacket said as sat, arms crossed, on a deck chair by the rooftop pool, "Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" Ladybug facepalmed.<br/>    "We just wanted to check," Cat Noir said, "you sure there's no one who would be angry you?" Chloe sighed and dramatically scratched her chin.<br/>    "Well, Sabrina did seem a little upset last time we spoke."<br/>    "What happened?" the Butterfly asked.<br/>    "She asked me what I thought of her new cashmere sweater vest, and I told her it wasn't very flattering on her. Nothing worth killing me over."<br/>    "You sure that's all you said?" Ladybug muttered.<br/>    "Maybe she just takes things like that more seriously than you do." Cat Noir said.<br/>    "Cashmere... that does sound about right." the Butterfly said, "The mammoth's fur was way softer than I expected."<br/>    "Where do you think she is now?" Ladybug said.<br/>    "Probably at home, a couple blocks down from the police station."<br/>    "I'll go find her. Cat Noir, Butterfly, keep an eye on her while I'm out." Ladybug jumped off the roof and swung away.<br/>    "Like I need to be babysat." Chloe said.</p><p>    Ladybug swung through the window into Sabrina's room, the walls papered in green-blue and decorated with framed selfies of her and Chloe. Sabrina herself sat on her pink bed, crying into a dark blue sweater vest.<br/>    "It's okay, Sabrina." Ladybug said, "I'm not gonna hurt you. I just need you to-"<br/>    "Go ahead!" Sabrina said, thrusting the sweater into Ladybug's face, "Tear it up, burn it for all I care. Chloe said it was ugly anyway!"<br/>    "I'm... sure she... didn't mean it." Ladybug said half-heartedly as she tore the sweater vest in half, releasing the amok. Ladybug opened her yo-yo and swept the feather up in it.<br/>    "Gotcha!" she said. Ladybug threw her yo-yo into the air, "Miraculous Ladybug!" A swarm of ladybugs flew out from her yo-yo and into the city, where they righted overturned cars, fixed the craters in the tarmac, and erasing the mammoth. Ladybug opened up her Bug Phone and tapped Cat Noir's picture.<br/>    "Go for kitty." Cat's voice came out.<br/>    "The Cashmere Mammoth is taken care of." Ladybug said, "You can get Chloe out of your hair now."<br/>    "Roger that. We're on our way out." Cat Noir disconnected the call.</p><p>    "Okay, Butterfly," Cat Noir said, "Looks like our work here is done."<br/>    "Did we go a whole fight without needing to use any of our special powers?"<br/>    "Must be a record!"<br/>    "Look, if you're really done here, could you please leave me alone?" Chloe said.<br/>    "Sorry to be a disturbance." The Butterfly said, rolling his eyes before jumping over the edge and gliding down. Cat Noir landed beside him.<br/>    "Glad that's over." the Butterfly said, "That girl is nothing but trouble."<br/>    "Yeah. The sad thing is that I'm sure she can do better, and that she was trying to be nice."<br/>    "What do you mean?"<br/>    "Like... I don't know how to explain it. I just feel like she has potential."<br/>    "Well, I can't say I agree. I've never known her to be anything but pure evil."<br/>    "Trust me, I've seen way worse than her, and it wasn't that clear cut even then." Cat Noir paused, and glanced at the Butterfly, "Maybe she just needs a little push."<br/>    "Whoa, if you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting, you can forget about it right now."<br/>    "It doesn't have to be very long. Besides, if it really turns out to be a bad idea, you can always revoke her powers, right?"<br/>    "I mean, technically yes, but who knows how much damage will have been done by that point? Besides, I don't think she's in the right mood for it."<br/>    "Hey, whatever you want to do. They're your powers. Just... something to think about." Cat Noir ran forward and vaulted over his staff.</p><p>    The Butterfly glided down from a rooftop and through a window, leading into his bedroom.<br/>    "Nooroo, wings fall." he said, and his costume disappeared. Nooroo flew into a can of miracle berries, while Nathaniel took a seat at the computer, and opened up the Ladyblog. On the front page of the site was a picture of a stained glass window, depicting a woman on a horse garbed in red and black-spotted armor.<br/>    "Miraculous Wielders Across History", the title read. Nathaniel scrolled through the article, focusing more on the pictures than on the actual text. The pictures were artistic depictions of warriors and mages from various points in history, dressed in clothes based on many different animals, including a ninja dressed like a black cat, an Arabic woman dressed like a red fox, a centurion dressed like a turtle, and a Native American woman dressed like a bee. Nathaniel took out his sketchbook and began drawing a figure when his brooch flashed briefly, accompanied by a mild chill in his chest.<br/>    <i>This feeling...</i> he thought, <i>It's like the feeling I got at the track, right before the Wheelociraptor showed up... this must be how I can tell when someone's upset.<br/>    </i>"Nooroo, someone might be in trouble." he said, causing the butterfly kwami to pop his head through the top, "Wings rise." Nooroo was sucked back into Nathaniel's brooch, and he turned back into the Butterfly. He closed his eyes, and heard a familiar voice.</p><p>    <i>What is wrong with everyone?</i> she said, <i>No matter what I do, I'm always the bad guy. Is it something wrong with me? Can I just do nothing right? Why can't I be the good guy for a change?</i></p><p>"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Mayura said, "Another already? Aw, the poor girl wants to be better, but it's just not in her nature." Mayura plucked a feather from her fan and kissed it, turning it blue. She opened her hand, and the feather blew out the window.</p><p>    <i>Is that... is that Chloe?</i> the Butterfly thought, <i>I guess Cat Noir was onto something.</i> He held his hand out to the side, and a white butterfly landed in his palm. He clasped his hands shut around the insect, and it glowed with a purple light.<br/>    "Fly, tenshi!" He opened his hands, and it fluttered out the window.</p><p>    The tenshi flew through the window to Chloe's bedroom, and found her standing in front of her bathroom mirror, combing out her long, blonde hair. The butterfly continued towards her, when suddenly the blue feather overtook it.<br/>    <i>An amok?!</i> The Butterfly said telepathically,<i> We really gotta hurry this up, little tenshi. </i>The purple butterfly accelerated towards her, the amok drifting ever closer still. The tenshi started to run out of energy, but managed to land on Chloe's comb before the amok could reach her. A purple light mask appeared around her eyes.<br/>    "Honey Bee," the Butterfly's voice said in Chloe's head, "I'm the Butterfly. I can tell that you really want to improve yourself, so I've decided to give you the chance to prove you can do it."<br/>    "Really?!" she said.<br/>    "Really. All I ask is that you use these powers responsibly. If you don't, I'll take them back immediately."<br/>    "Sounds like a deal to me." Chloe said, and her body was enveloped in purple light, which gave way to a yellow and black striped costume. Chloe looked down at her comb, which was now a decorative, bee-shaped comb. She put the comb into her hair, and smiled.</p><p>    "Curses!" Mayura said, "Not only did I miss her, but now I have to contend with her against me!" Mayura took a deep breath and sighed, "Well, at the very least, she's too incompetent a hero to be a problem. I guess I'll just have to find someone else to work with."</p><p>    Marinette leaned back in her desk chair, her cell phone to her ear.<br/>    "Another victory for Ladybug and Cat Noir, huh?" she said.<br/>    "Yeah, it was really cool." Adrien said on the other end, "Especially the part where she tied up the mammoth's legs with her yo-yo and tripped it up."<br/>    "Yeah, I have to say that was a pretty clever move." Marinette giggled, "Of course, they wouldn't get into situations like that if it weren't for some people making life miserable for everyone around them."<br/>    "I mean, I'll give her this, she seemed like she legitimately meant well this time."<br/>    "Meant well? She called Sabrina's sweater ugly."<br/>    "She probably thought she was being helpful, but it just came out wrong or something. I'm sure she had good intentions."<br/>    "What's that saying again? The road to darkness is paved with good intentions?"<br/>    "Look, maybe you're right. Can we just drop the subject?" Marinette took a deep breath.<br/>    "Yeah, sorry. I got a little heated there. Hey, we should do something fun together tomorrow morning. Go for a run or something."<br/>    "Yeah, I like that. How early can you get up?"<br/>    "Well, I don't have any homework to pull an all-nighter with, so for once I can be up whenever I need to be."<br/>    "Great, cause I have an idea, but it involves meeting up before sunrise. Sound good?"<br/>    "Before sunrise might be a challenge, but I'm up to it."<br/>    "Wonderful. See you tomorrow, princess."<br/>    "Okay, love you."<br/>    "Love you too, bye." Adrien hung up.</p><p>    The morning light broke over the Paris skyline, bathing Ladybug and Cat Noir in an aura of pink as they ran together across the rooftops of the city. Upon reaching the bank of the Seine, they jumped off the rooftop and onto the railing of the Pont des Arts. Ladybug threw her yo-yo all the way to the top of the Eiffel Tower, and Cat Noir grabbed onto her body. Ladybug tugged on the yo-yo string, pulling the pair up to tallest platform.<br/>    "Sunrise on the Eiffel Tower." Cat Noir said, leaning over the guardrail, "Truly a romantic setting."<br/>    "There's nothing quite like it." Ladybug said as she walked up next to Cat Noir.<br/>    "There's nothing quite like you." Cat Noir kissed Ladybug's cheek.<br/>    "Oh, stop it!" Ladybug giggled.<br/>    "Only when you stop loving it." Cat Noir teased. Ladybug grabbed onto his arm and leaned her head on his shoulder as they gazed at the rising sun. The moment seemed to last for half of an eternity, when suddenly they heard a loud splash from the river below them. They looked down from their high vantage point and saw a giant white worm creature, with nested heads and black mottled skin.<br/>    "Ugh, I guess the romantic morning run is on hold." Ladybug said before jumping down to the ground, followed suit by Cat Noir. The duo ran up to the edge of the water, when suddenly they heard a buzzing noise, followed by a string wrapping around the worm's inner neck. Ladybug followed the string up to a rooftop across the river, where Honey Bee stood, holding the other end of the string.<br/>    "Don't worry, you two." she said, "Honey Bee's got this monster stung-" The worm creature swung its head away from her, flinging her over the water. The monster shot itself up out of the water towards her, but Ladybug threw her yo-yo at her, wrapping its string around her waist, and pulled her away from it. Honey Bee landed on the ground next to Ladybug and rolled to slow her landing. She stood up and dusted herself up.<br/>    "I didn't need saving, you know." she said, "I had it under control."<br/>    "It sure didn't look like it." Ladybug said, "Who are you, anyway?" Honey Bee turned to look at Ladybug and glared at her.<br/>    "Don't you know? I'm-" Honey Bee paused, "I'm Honey Bee. I already told you." Ladybug took a long, hard look at Honey Bee's face.<br/>    "Chloe?" Ladybug gasped under her breath, before turning to glare at Cat Noir, who was scratching his neck nervously.<br/>    "Okay, we can talk about this later." Ladybug huffed, "For now, we have a monster to fight."<br/>    "Right." Cat Noir said, drawing his staff from his belt. He ran towards the giant snake and jumped into the air. He extended his staff down into the worm's throat, and the creature bit down on it. It jerked from side to side, flinging Cat Noir away before spitting out the metal rod. Ladybug threw her yo-yo at the creature, wrapping the string around its outer neck. She dug her heels into the grass and yanked as hard as she could on the string. The giant worm pulled back, dragging her feet through the dirt, but she stood her ground as best she could. Eventually, however, the snake pulled back hard enough that the string came unwrapped, causing the yo-yo to return to Ladybug's hand. The giant worm roared at Ladybug, only to be distracted by the Butterfly gliding past and landing next to her.<br/>    "Another big one, huh?" the Butterfly said, "Guess I'm gonna need my big net." The Butterfly ran towards the monster and jumped into the air. He pressed a button on the side of his net shaft, causing the net portion to expand to gigantic proportions. He swung the net down, enveloping the giant worm's head in its mesh. The Butterfly landed back on the ground by the edge of the river.<br/>    "Try it now, LB!" he said, "Maybe we just need to spread the load out more." Ladybug threw her yo-yo at the trapped creature's neck, but before it could make contact, the snake retreated into the water, as if sucked against its will.<br/>    "Did we scare it off?" Cat Noir said.<br/>    "I don't know," the Butterfly said, "it didn't seem like was retreating on its own will."<br/>    "Well, there's not much we can do about it now." Ladybug said, "For now, we have other things to discuss." She turned to Cat Noir and walked up to him.<br/>    "Care to explain how Chloe got her hands on a Miraculous?" she asked.<br/>    "Miraculous?" Cat Noir said, "Oh, no. I didn't give her a Miraculous. Hey, Butterfly, back me up here!" Ladybug looked at the Butterfly.<br/>    "You're in on this, too?"<br/>    "Believe me, I wasn't a fan of the idea at first." the Butterfly said, "But then I got a look inside her head, and saw some potential in her, so I gave it a shot. I figured that if something went wrong, I could take her powers away from her."<br/>    "By that point, the damage may have already been done." she said.<br/>    "I think we should still let her have her shot." Cat Noir interjected, "Just this once?" Ladybug growled, then took a deep breath. Ladybug turned to Honey Bee.<br/>    "One chance, Chloe." she conceded, "You get one chance to prove you can be a hero, okay? I'd say you already blew it, but you really didn't do anything."<br/>    "Hey, I helped!" Honey Bee retorted, "I totally held that worm-thing off!"<br/>    "For all of two seconds." Ladybug said, "You may as well have not even been here."<br/>    "Look, I don't need to deal with this right now. I'm going home, call me if you need me." Honey Bee threw her top into the distance and swung away. Ladybug turned to the Butterfly.<br/>    "Having second thoughts yet?"<br/>    "Kind of, yeah." the Butterfly said. Ladybug threw her yo-yo and swung away.</p><p>    Chloe swung through the window to her penthouse bedroom and landed on her pink couch.<br/>    "Tenshi, buzz off!" she said, and her comb turned to a solid silver color, her costume disappeared, and the purple butterfly landed on a nearby table.<br/>    "Wow, I could use a break." Chloe said as she picked up the TV remote and pressed "ON". Nadja Chamack appeared on the screen in front of her, with the headline "MONSTER ATTACKS SEINE RIVER, NEW HERO ON SCENE" beneath her.<br/>    "Sweet, I'm on the news!" Chloe said.<br/>    "This is Nadja Chamack, don't be bemused, it's just the news." said the woman on TV, "In a new breaking piece, a giant worm monster was spotted emerging from the Seine River. Fortunately, Ladybug and Cat Noir were on the scene to fend it off, along with a brand new hero, who calls herself Honey Bee." The broadcast cut to a cellphone video of the monster attack. At the point where the Honey Bee's trompo string wrapped around the creature's neck, the camera zoomed in on Honey Bee standing on the roof.<br/>    <i>"Don't worry, you two. Honey Bee's got this monster stung-"</i> The creature jerked its head to the other side, pulling Honey Bee off her feet and out of the frame. The video paused there.<br/>    "Wow... that looked way different than I remember." Chloe said.<br/>    "Honey Bee's contribution to the fight was brief," Nadja continued, "but judging by these Tweets, it certainly was memorable, though probably not in the way she intended." The screen cut to screenshots of several Tweets.<br/>    "Honey Bee? More like wannabe lol" One said.<br/>    "I'd give Honey Bee points for trying, but her showing was so terrible that I'd have to take all those points back." Another said.<br/>    "Can we even call Honey Bee a superhero? She didn't save anyone, and I didn't even see any superpowers."<br/>    "I'm like 99% sure that 'Honey Bee' is just a paid actress meant to make Ladybug and Cat Noir look better by comparison."<br/>    "We went from Rena Rouge to this?"<br/>    "Do Honey Bee's parents know that her game of dress-up has gotten out of hand?"<br/>    "Leave the hero work to the pros, Honey Bee. You're lucky to still be alive after that stunt." Chloe turned off the TV and threw the remote onto the ground.<br/>    "What do I need to do to show people I can be good?!" Chloe shouted before curling up into a ball, "I just want to be like Ladybug." Chloe took out her phone and pulled up her apps folder. Her finger hovered over the Netflix icon, but in her peripherals she saw the Ladyblog icon. After a moment's hesitation, she clicked the Ladyblog. She clicked on the videos tab, and clicked "Play All".</p><p>    Marinette stood on the edge of the river, just beneath the Pont des Arts, Tikki hovering beside her.<br/>    "You ready, Tikki?" Marinette said.<br/>    "Shouldn't you be doing this with Adrien?" Tikki said.<br/>    "I don't know, this morning got... a little heated. I'll call him if I end up needing him, but for now I'd rather go on my own."<br/>    "Well, if you insist, then I'm ready." Tikki said.<br/>    "Tikki, spots on!" Tikki flew into Marinette's earring, and five black dots appeared in an X-shape. She ran her hands across her face, and a red and black-spotted domino mask appeared, and some small red ribbons appeared around her pigtails. She thrust her arms out, and a red and black-spotted costume appeared all the way to her fingertips, then down her torso and legs. Ladybug put her yo-yo up to her face, biting down on the newly-deployed breathing tube, and dove into the river, where she saw a substantial trough in the sand.<br/>    <i>Wormsign.</i> Ladybug thought. She swam away from the bridge, following the trail of sand through the winding river, passing underneath boat after boat, until she finally came to the end of the trail. She took a look around, and noticed the hull of a large boat, stationary in the water. She swam up towards the hull of the boat, and peered through one of the portholes. On the other side was a boy in a sky blue jacket with teal hair, playing a guitar.<br/>    <i>Luka!</i> she thought,<i> So, the snake came from one of the Couffaines. But which one?</i> Ladybug looked away from Luka's window and swam over to the next porthole over. In this one, she saw Juleka sitting at her desk, scratching with a pen onto a sheet of notebook paper. Ladybug scanned the rest of the room, and saw a gas lamp sitting on a spider-web tablecloth. She peered at the smoke coming from the flame in the lamp, and noticed it moving in unnatural ways. It writhed like a worm, beating itself against the glass of the lamp.<br/>    <i>That's it!</i> Ladybug thought as she swam over to the edge of the river and jumped out. She took out her Bug Phone and called Cat Noir, but got no answer.<br/>    "I guess I'm on my own." she said, putting the yo-yo back on her hip. She jumped off the shore and onto the deck of the boat. She walked down to the lower deck and walked up to Juleka's door. She pushed it open slowly, the hinges creaking softly, and tiptoed toward the table. She reached out to grab the lamp.<br/>    "NO!" Juleka shouted as she dove for the lamp, "I don't care if he goes a bit crazy sometimes, I won't let you kill my friend!"<br/>    "Friend?" Ladybug said, "Juleka, Mayura's brainwashed you-"<br/>    "I don't care! I need Slithermilk, he's all I have. Without him I'd rather die!"<br/>    "Slitherm-"<br/>    "Stop! No one says that name but me!"<br/>    "O-okay, Juleka." Ladybug said as she surreptitiously reached for her yo-yo, "There's no need to get aggressive."<br/>    "Please, get away from me!"<br/>    "Juleka, I understand that you care about Slith- your friend, but he's dangerous."<br/>    "But I need him, and I won't let you take him from me. Slithermilk, Slithermilk, Slithermilk!" The smoke in the lamp swirled around and came out the opening in the top, taking shape into the mottled worm. Ladybug pressed the button in the center of her yo-yo in an SOS pattern and ran out of the room as the snake grew larger.</p><p>    Nathaniel sat at his desk, sketching a turtle-themed superhero, when suddenly his brooch flashed in the SOS pattern, and Nooroo flew out of the berry can forcefully, causing it to spill all over his desk.<br/>    "Nathaniel, Ladybug's in trouble!" the moth kwami said.<br/>    "Then we'd better get going." Nathaniel said as he removed his jacket, "Nooroo, wings rise!" Nooroo flew into Nathaniel's brooch, causing it to sprout butterfly wings. He ran his hands across his face and over his hair, and a purple cowl with a silver butterfly mask appeared. He spread his arms out, and the purple continued down his torso and arms, which ended in a pair of black, winged gloves. The purple continued further down to his legs, which ended in black, winged boots. A pair of black wings sprouted from his back, and a silver net appeared in his hand. His transformation complete, the Butterfly jumped out his window and up to a rooftop. He pressed a button on his net, and the mesh retracted into a screen, which displayed a map of Paris, with a red blip flashing in the same SOS pattern on the Seine. He stowed the net on his hip, and put his fingers to his temples.</p><p>    Chloe stood in front of the TV, which was now displaying a video of Ladybug fighting Captain Hardrock, and mimicked Ladybug's movements. She paused the video and picked up a notepad, when the light mask appeared on her face again.<br/>    "I see you've been studying," the Butterfly said, "Smart choice."<br/>    "Yeah, it's tougher than it looks." Chloe said.<br/>    "Well, let's hope it's paying off, because Ladybug's in trouble. I'll send you the coordinates on your Bee Phone."<br/>    "I'm on it. Tenshi, buzz on!" The purple butterfly flew into the comb, and Chloe tapped her left foot on the ground. A yellow and black striped costume appeared all the way up her body, and she slid two fingers across her face, causing a similarly striped mask to appear on her face. Honey Bee split her top into two, revealing a screen in the upper half, where Ladybug's coordinates were displayed on a map. She put the top back together and threw it out the window. She tugged on the string, and glided out into the city.</p><p>    Ladybug ran to the upper deck of the <i>Liberty</i>, only for Slithermilk to burst through and roar. It peered at Ladybug, all four of its eyes shining bright red, and lunged forward, only to be knocked aside by a yellow and black blur. Ladybug followed the blur with her eyes and saw Honey Bee grab onto the mast, her trompo string still wrapped tightly around.<br/>    "Chloe?" Ladybug said.<br/>    "I told you, I prefer Honey Bee." she said as she jumped down, "The Butterfly told me you needed help. What's the sitch?"<br/>    "This thing is Juleka's sentimonster, and apparently her friend. I think the amok is in her lamp, that's where she keeps it."<br/>    "Keeps it?"<br/>    "That part isn't important now. She's obviously not sealing it away anytime soon."<br/>    "So we're gonna have to take it down ourselves. Sounds good to me." Honey Bee spun her top by the string, creating a yellow energy shield, and Ladybug did the same with her yo-yo. Slithermilk roared and lunged at the pair, but they both jumped out of the way in opposite directions. Honey Bee threw her top at the snake, point-first, causing it to howl in pain. Slithermilk turned to face her, but Ladybug caught it by the outer neck with her yo-yo string. The giant worm squirmed around, causing the boat to rock in place.<br/>    "There are people below deck!" Ladybug shouted, "We gotta get them out of here."<br/>    "We've got that covered." Cat Noir said. Ladybug and Honey Bee turned to see the Butterfly gliding in, and Cat Noir falling down beside him, slowing his descent by spinning his staff. The two heroes landed on the deck of the boat.<br/>    "Honey Bee," the Butterfly said, "come down with me."<br/>    "On it." the blonde heroine said, and the two ran down the stairs together. Cat Noir split his staff in two, and jumped up onto Slithermilk's back. He extended the two staff pieces and connected them back together, putting the snake into a pseudo choke hold.</p><p>    The Butterfly and Honey Bee reached the lower deck, and the boat rocked again.<br/>    "Whoa, we'd better hurry." Honey Bee said before running through one of the doors. On the other side, she saw Luka, clutching tightly to his guitar. Honey Bee held out her hand.<br/>    "We need to get off this boat." Honey Bee said, reaching out her hand. Luka grabbed onto it without a second thought, and they ran out to the stairs together. They stopped for a moment when the boat rocked again, but quickly got back on their way, and ran up the stairs and to the edge of the deck. Honey Bee threw her top around a lamp post.<br/>    "You might want to grab on more tightly." Honey Bee said. Luka strapped his guitar to his back, and grabbed onto Honey Bee's waist. Honey Bee tugged the string, and the two were pulled onto the street. The Butterfly ran out with Anarka and jumped over the river with her. Slithermilk bucked again, and Cat Noir lost his grip on one end of his staff, causing him to fall off and fly into the river. The Butterfly jumped back to the boat and swung his net over Slithermilk's head. The worm, however, swung its head around, flinging the Butterfly into the water.<br/>    "Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouted as she threw her yo-yo into the air. A swarm of ladybugs flew out of the yo-yo, and dropped a trompo into Ladybug's hands. Ladybug looked around at her surroundings, and took notice of Slithermilk, the lamp in Juleka's room below, and Honey Bee's own trompo.<br/>    "Honey Bee, over to you!" Ladybug shouted to the shore, while miming riding a horse using the trompo. Honey Bee looked down at her trompo, and up at Slithermilk. She smirked at Ladybug, and threw her trompo in an arc through Slithermilk's mouth. The snake bit the string, and the top returned to her hand. Honey Bee tugged on the top, and she was pulled up to Slithermilk's back, holding the trompo string like a horse rein.<br/>    "Venom!" she shouted, and a ball of energy swelled out from her top, taking the shape of a bee stinger. She jabbed the stinger directly into Slithermilk's neck, causing it to go limp and curl downwards. It fell down straight into Juleka's room, startling her into dropping the lamp and running. Slithermilk's mouth limply hung open as it fell down, swallowing up the lamp as it broke through the hull of the ship before disappearing. Water poured into Juleka's room, and Honey Bee jumped off of Slithermilk's back to grab her and bring her out of the flooding room. The ship slowly descended into the river.<br/>    "Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug shouted as she threw her red trompo into the air, releasing a swarm of ladybugs. The ladybugs flew around the ship, lifting it out of the river, draining the water from Juleka's room, and fixing the holes made by Slithermilk. Ladybug looked down into the water, and saw a dark blue feather floating away on the surface.<br/>    "Oh no, you don't." she said as she opened up her yo-yo, revealing a pool of pink energy. She threw the yo-yo into the water, scooping up the feather and trapping it inside, and pulled it back towards her.<br/>    "Gotcha." she said before reopening the yo-yo, releasing a pure white feather into the breeze. Ladybug gave an exhausted sigh as Honey Bee came back up onto deck with Juleka.<br/>    "She's safe now." Honey Bee said.<br/>    "Thanks, Honey Bee." Ladybug said, "I guess I did misjudge you after all. You really did have a hero in you."<br/>    "Thanks, I've been studying."<br/>    "Well, it's definitely paying off. You handled that fight like a pro." Ladybug held up her fist, and Honey Bee bumped it with her own.<br/>    "Pound it!" they said in unison. Suddenly Ladybug's earring beeped.<br/>    "Oh, I should go." she said.<br/>    "Actually, if you have a second..." Juleka said.<br/>    "What is it?"<br/>    "I'm... I'm sorry for lashing out at you back there."<br/>    "Hey, it's not your fault. Mayura was messing with your head."<br/>    "I know, but... I let her in. I let my loneliness get the best of me. Ever since Rose went off with Prince Ali a couple days ago..." Juleka suddenly felt an arm on her back. She looked to her side and saw Luka standing next to her.<br/>    "It's okay, Jules." he said, "You can always talk to me, if you ever feel alone."<br/>    "I know, but just... you're always working on your music, and I never want to disturb you..."<br/>    "Hey, no music is more important than making sure my baby sister is okay." Juleka smiled and hugged her brother.<br/>    "Well, I guess our work here is done." Honey Bee said, "We should get going, we're both about to change back."<br/>    "Right. See you, Juleka." Ladybug said before swinging away. Honey Bee spun her trompo around in a circle, but before she could throw it, she saw the Butterfly and Cat Noir climbing out of the river on the other side. She stopped spinning, and jumped across the river to meet them.<br/>    "You did a great job out there," Cat Noir said, "I'm impressed."<br/>    "Thanks, Cat Noir." Honey Bee said, "And thanks for letting me have this opportunity, Butterfly."<br/>    "No problem." the Butterfly said, "Now comes the tough part... I'm gonna need to take your powers back now."<br/>    "Aw, really?"<br/>    "Yeah. I'm afraid that I can only have one tenshi going at a time, and you're problem's already taken care of, so..."<br/>    "I... I understand."<br/>    "But hey, if we ever need your help again, we'll let you know." Cat Noir said. The Butterfly held out his hand, and the tenshi flew out of the comb. Honey Bee turned back into Chloe, now with a large comb stuck in her hair. The Butterfly stifled a chuckle as the tenshi returned to his hand. He waved his other hand over it, and it turned back into a normal butterfly before flying away.</p><p>    "Well, it seems I underestimated this Honey Bee character." Mayura said, "But rest assured, Ladybug and Cat Noir, that it won't happen again, and someday, I will make you two say my name!"</p><p>    Ladybug ducked into an alleyway, out of the light of the street lamps.<br/>    "Spots off." she whispered, and her costume disappeared. Marinette peeked out into the streets, and saw no one. She stepped out quietly and slowly walked down the street, constantly looking from side to side until she bumped into Adrien.<br/>    "There you are, princess." he said.<br/>    "Oh, Adrien!" Marinette said, "I've been wanting to talk to you."<br/>    "What about?"<br/>    "Well, I feel like I should apologize, for how I reacted this morning."<br/>    "It's okay. I don't really blame you, knowing how Chloe's treated you... and everyone else. I'm glad you came around, though."<br/>    "Thanks. Though you do realize that I'm going to hold her to a higher standard now, right?"<br/>    "I understand. Come on, let's get you back home." Adrien put his arm around Marinette's shoulders and led her down the street.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Sepialopod</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    Nathaniel sat at a table, drawing out the final Man-Fly design when he heard the doors swing open behind him. He turned to see Marinette entering the room, followed by Alya with her camera phone.<br/>
    "Yo peeps," she said, "Alya here taking you behind the scenes of the Theatre Peltier production of <i>The Man-Fly</i>. I'm here with wardrobe lead, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Marinette, what are you working on right now?"<br/>
    "Right now, me and Nathaniel, our art lead, are working on the design for the Man-Fly costume itself." Marinette said, "We've gone through several drafts and some conflicting ideas, but I believe we should be close to our final design. Hey, Nathan, how's that final design going?"<br/>
    "Oh, uh, well, um... it's, uh..." Nathaniel lowered his voice to a whisper, "Are you recording?" Alya sighed and hit the stop button.<br/>
    "Got to a rough end there, but that wasn't a bad take overall." she said.<br/>
    "Little camera-shy, Nathan?" Marinette said.<br/>
    "Kind of." he admitted, "Also not a fan of being put on the spot."<br/>
    "So, how's that final design coming?"<br/>
    "It's pretty much done." Nathaniel handed Marinette the sheet of paper he was working on. The drawing was of a humanoid figure covered in stiff hairs. His arms were jointed like a human's but wrapped in boney, hairy plates, and with some fingers replaced with claws. The legs were structured like an insect's, except for the more human-like knees and feet. The face was the most horrific detail, with a large red compound eye on the left side and a stubby proboscis in place of the mouth. On the right side, however, a human eye was still visible, untouched by the transformation, alongside the surrounding skin and the streak of blond hair running down his scalp.<br/>
    "Looks really good. It's creepy, it gets the point across, but still would work as a costume, and won't make the audience vomit. I'd say it's ready to give to Mr. Brundle."<br/>
    "Glad you like it." Nathaniel said.<br/>
    "Yeah, it's really good." Alya said, "Mind if I take a picture of it? I'm doing a behind the scenes blog, and want to get as many pics and vids as I can."<br/>
    "I guess," Nathaniel said, "if you have permission from the director."<br/>
    "Don't worry, I won't post anything without Mr. Brundle's permission."<br/>
    "Okay then. But I expect thirty Expose-euros every month." Alya and Marinette both chuckled.<br/>
    "Did Nathaniel just make a joke?" Alya said.<br/>
    "I think he did." Marinette said.<br/>
    "Sorry, it was stupid, I know."<br/>
    "Don't be sorry, it was actually kind of funny." Marinette said before turning to look at David, who was off in another corner of the room.<br/>
    "Mr. Brundle, you got a second?" she asked. David turned to look at her and walked over, "What do you think of this design?"<br/>
    "I love it." David said, looking down at the drawing in Nathaniel's hands, "Love the bit of asymmetry with the face. I might actually play around with that in the blocking."<br/>
    "Wow, thanks, Mr. Brundle." Nathaniel said, "What do you want me to work on now?"<br/>
    "I'll have a new assignment for you soon, but for now I think you've both earned a break. I'm holding auditions for the role of Barbara today, want to watch?"<br/>
    "That sounds like fun." Marinette said, "What do you say, Nathaniel?"<br/>
    "Okay then." Nathaniel said.</p><p>    Nathaniel took a seat in the house towards the back, and Marinette and Alya sat in the row ahead of him. Down towards the front, a large group of girls sat, idly chatting as David walked down the aisle towards the front. He stopped in front of the stage, and Stuart stood up next to him. All the chatter stopped, and Stuart cleared his throat.<br/>
    "Okay, ladies," he said, "We're going to start auditions now. You will be reading the scene you were given with our leading man, Adrien Agreste." Right on cue, Adrien stepped out from behind a leg curtain, to thunderous applause.<br/>
    "Settle down, ladies." David said as he took out his clipboard, "Now, first on the list is... Veronica Owens. Veronica, come on up." A pale-skinned blonde girl in a teal shirt and jeans stood up and made her way to the stage, awkwardly pushing past other girls as she went. She walked up the steps to the deck and took a place next to Adrien. David and Stuart took their seats.<br/>
    "Start whenever you're ready." David said. Veronica brushed her hair out of her face and looked down at her script.<br/>
    "Well, Philippe," she said, "you sure seem excited."<br/>
    "To say the least." Adrien replied, "I've just hit a major breakthrough in my research."<br/>
    "No way, for real?"<br/>
    "For real. I have discovered a way..." Adrien paused dramatically, "to move matter... from one point in space to another... in a fraction of a second."<br/>
    "Shut up!"<br/>
    "I'm serious. You know how particles will sometimes quantum tunnel from one point in space to another? Well, I've finally solved some equations that, at least in theory, will allow me to predict and control when and how each particle moves. Apply this formula to all the particles in an object at the same time--"<br/>
    "And you can move an object through space instantaneously." Veronica paused to look at her script, "It's brilliant! We should go and celebrate!"<br/>
    "Barbara, this is only the beginning. I've come so far, I can't stop now."<br/>
    Veronica sighed, "Philippe, you've got so much time ahead of you for this, and even after that there will be more people to carry it on." she glanced down again, "Moments like this don't come very often, probably even once in a lifetime! I know how much this means to you, but... do you know how much you mean to me?"<br/>
    "Not bad, not bad at all." David said, "I noticed a couple of weird pauses in there, but it's okay, you're not expected to memorize the lines right now. You did a good job."<br/>
    "Thank you." Veronica said as she stepped off of the stage.<br/>
    "Mr. Brundle is right," Alya whispered, "she did a good job."<br/>
    "Yeah, he did." Marinette said, staring at Adrien in awe before shaking her head, "Oh, I mean, she did. Well, they both did. I mean-" Marinette growled and dropped her head.<br/>
    "You know, I thought you'd gotten past this point when you and Adrien started dating."<br/>
    "I thought so, too. But he's still just so--"<br/>
    "Next up, Lila Rossi."<br/>
    "Lila?" Marinette gasped. Sure enough, a girl in a familiar red jacket and gray romper, along with a yellow metal locket, stood up from an aisle seat.<br/>
    "I'm ready, sir." Lila said, "I can't wait to show you what I've got. You know, I've actually studied under Roberta Cesar while my parents were in--" Lila stopped short and took another breath, grabbing onto her locket, but Marinette stood up and shouted over her.<br/>
    "She's probably lying!" Alya put her hand on Marinette's shoulder and pushed her back down to her seat.<br/>
    "Quiet in the house, please." David said firmly, "Lila, are you ready to read?"<br/>
    "Yeah, I'm..." she trailed off, "I'm..." tears began to pool in her eyes, "I'm sorry!" Lila ran off down the aisle and out of the house. Nathaniel felt a chill in his chest and ducked out after her.</p><p>    Mayura stood in the light of a big window, holding her fan just in front of her face.<br/>
    "Ah, an old friend." she said, "Perhaps it's time for us to get reacquainted." Mayura plucked a small feather from her fan and kissed it, then blew it out the window.</p><p>    Nathaniel stepped out of the house and slipped into the men's room. He tugged on the front of his jacket, and Nooroo flew out from one of the inner pockets.<br/>
    "I sensed a negative emotion," Nathaniel said, "I think it's coming from Lila."<br/>
    "Do you think that you can beat Mayura again?" the butterfly kwami said.<br/>
    "At the very least, I need to be ready to strike." Nathaniel slid his jacket off, revealing a purple brooch pinned to his shirt, "Nooroo, wings rise!" Nooroo flew into the brooch, causing it to sprout a pair of butterfly-like wings. Nathaniel slid his hands over his hair, and a purple cowl appeared, with a silver butterfly mask on the front. He swung his arms out to the sides and the purple cowl extended down over his shirt, where a large black butterfly appeared. A pair of purple sleeves appeared on his arms, which ended with a pair of gloves with more butterfly-like wings on the cuffs. The purple shirt then extended down into a pair of pants, which ended in black boots with more butterfly cuffs. Last to appear was a silver butterfly net in his hand and a pair of collapsed wings on his back. The Butterfly assumed a power stance.</p><p>    Lila sat against the wall in a dark corner, her face buried in her hands as she sobbed. The amok drifted through the air and landed in Lila's locket.<br/>
    "Lila Rossi," a voice in Lila's head said, "I am Mayura. I can sense all your feelings. The anger, the sorrow, the fear, feelings that run so deep that, once unleashed, nothing will be able to stop them!"<br/>
    "That sounds like a good--no! I've done enough damage already!"<br/>
    "But Lila, you've already done great work for us. You've come so far, you can't stop now."<br/>
    "I just want--"<br/>
    "I know what you want, and once this is over, you will have it. Are you interested?"<br/>
    "...yeah."<br/>
    "Then it's settled. Your feelings will come to life and keep you safe from the ones that threaten you." A stream of ink flowed out from Lila's locket, scattering through the air as if it were in water, before coalescing into an oval shape.</p><p>    Marinette sat awkwardly in her theater seat while another girl read an audition with Adrien.<br/>
    "Philippe, you've got so much time ahead of you to work on this," the raven-haired girl in a pink shirt said, "but moments like this only come once in a lifetime. I know how much this means to you, but how much do I mean to you?"<br/>
    "Thank you, Ruxandra." David said, "Unfortunately, your performance felt a little flat. I did find it interesting how you went off-script, though."<br/>
    "I agree with David," Stuart said, "I don't have a problem with you changing the lines if you feel it'd sound better, but I think you took it a bit too far with that final line. It came off more aggressive than the scene called for."<br/>
    "Oh, I understand." Ruxandra said.<br/>
    "Just keep practicing, and you might land a role some other time." David said as Ruxandra stepped down from the stage.<br/>
    "Now, we're going to take a quick break," David said, standing to face the house, "We'll resume in... I'll say about ten minutes. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves, study your scripts a little more, whatever you feel like doing." David walked up the aisle, and stopped by Marinette's seat.<br/>
    "Marinette, a word?" he said.<br/>
    "Yes, Mr. Brundle." Marinette said before standing up and scootching past Alya. David led her out through the auditorium doors, and crouched slightly to meet her eye level.<br/>
    "Marinette, the way you treated Lila just then... I hope you realize that was uncalled for."<br/>
    "I'm sorry, Mr. Brundle. It's just that, she and I go to school together, and she would lie a lot and cause a bunch of trouble. She even got one of my friends akumatized. And when she starting talking about Roberta Cesar, I-"<br/>
    "I understand, Marinette, but I don't think <i>you</i> understand just how much you upset her."<br/>
    "She was probably faking then, too."<br/>
    "Marinette, I've been working in theatre for twenty years now. Body language is literally an essential skill for my job. I didn't need you to tell me she was lying about Roberta Cesar, I could tell that myself. I could also tell that her tears were genuine."<br/>
    "Oh... I had no idea. I guess I owe Lila an-" Marinette screeched in pain, and then rubbed the small of her back, "That was od-" Marinette's right arm was suddenly yanked hard to the side by an unseen force, causing her to fall.<br/>
    "Marinette, what's going on?"<br/>
    "I-argh-I don't know!" The force dragged Marinette along the ground and swung her into a pillar. The Butterfly ran out from the shadows.<br/>
    "Butterfly, help me!" Marinette said.<br/>
    "Don't worry, Ma...dame." the Butterfly said as he grabbed his net off his waist. He swung the net at Marinette's arm, but only caught Marinette in the sock. The invisible force then grabbed onto Marinette's hair, which formed into eight curls as she was dragged across the floor screaming. The Butterfly swatted at the floating hair, which fell back to the ground shortly before Marinette was pulled up by her purse strap. The Butterfly swung his net down Marinette's front, finally striking the invisible thing, only to feel a tug on the handle. The Butterfly pulled back harder on the net, and Marinette fell to the ground.<br/>
    "Sorry." he said. He felt another, stronger tug on the net, and was pulled to the side. Marinette scrambled back to her feet and ran away. The net swung around in Marinette's direction, and the tugging stopped, but the Butterfly jumped and swung his net. When it hit the ground, he saw the sock seeming to move and stretch on its own, and the net began to slide along the ground. He looked up to see where Marinette had gone, but she was out of sight. The Butterfly turned to David.<br/>
    "Get to safety, quickly!" he said. David slipped back into the house and locked the doors.<br/>
    "Nobody panic, there's a sentimonster in the hallway outside." David said before running to the other door. Everybody panicked until Stuart spoke up.<br/>
    "Everybody quiet!" he shouted, and everybody went silent, "You have every right to be afraid, but for right now, the most important thing to do is to remain calm. David, what is the status outside?"<br/>
    "For the moment, the Butterfly has the monster contained." David said, "Ladybug and Cat Noir have not shown up yet, however."<br/>
    "Is Marinette okay?" Alya asked.<br/>
    "Marinette has run off," David said, "it seems to have been attacking her specifically."<br/>
    "I'm sure Ladybug and Cat Noir will protect her, Alya." Stuart added, "In any case, there's not much you would be able to do to help her in these circumstances." Alya sat back down, looking sad.</p><p>    Adrien, however, had slipped backstage during the chaos and was currently talking to Plagg.<br/>
    "You heard Mr. Brundle," he whispered, "there's a sentimonster out there, and it's after Marinette."<br/>
    "Aww, but I was having fun watching you perform."<br/>
    "Trust me, this fight will be way more fun to watch. Plagg, claws out!" Adrien thrust his fist out and Plagg was sucked into his silver ring, turning it black. He raised his hand into the air as a cat paw symbol appeared on the bezel. Adrien wiped his fingers across his face, and a black leather domino mask appeared and his eyes turned green. He ran his hands through his hair, and a pair of cat-ear pieces appeared. He thrust his arms out to the side and a black leather suit appeared all over his body, with a gold bell on his neck. A belt appeared around Adrien's waist, with the excess coming off the back as a tail. A silver stick appeared on his back, and Cat Noir raised his claws.</p><p>    Marinette gently shut the door to the broom closet she had ducked into. She opened up her purse and Tikki flew out.<br/>
    "I need to transform," Marinette said, "quickly, before that sentimonster finds me again!"<br/>
    "Just say the words!" Tikki said.<br/>
    "Tikki, spots on!" Marinette said, and Tikki flew into her earring, causing it to turn red with five black spots. She put her hands in front of her face and spread them out, revealing a red and black spotted domino mask. She snapped her arms out to the sides, and red and black spotted sleeves appeared down to her fingertips. The same mesh-like fabric extended down to her legs, and a red yo-yo appeared on her hip. Ladybug spun on her toes and assumed a fighting stance. She took out her Bug-Phone and put it to her ear.<br/>
    "Ready for a fight, m'lady?" the voice on the other end said.</p><p>    Back in the hallway, the Butterfly's net continued to jerk side to side as the invisible monster tried to break free. He held it in place as hard as he could, but the net eventually was pushed upward before collapsing back down, at complete rest. The Butterfly stood back up and released his grip on the net handle before grabbing back on at the base. He popped a stylus out of the side, and the bag contracted into a flat sheet. Glowing icons appeared on the screen in the shape of a ladybug and a green cat paw. He reached out to tap the ladybug icon when suddenly Ladybug landed in front of him. Upon seeing this, he slid the stylus back into the net and stowed it on his hip.<br/>
    "What brings you here, Ladybug?" the Butterfly asked.<br/>
    "I heard reports of a sentimonster here." Ladybug said, "So I called Cat Noir and came down this way."<br/>
    "He on is way, too?"<br/>
    "Already here!" Cat Noir said as he ran in from behind the Butterfly.<br/>
    "Sweet, the gang's all here." the Butterfly said, "Now all we need to do is find and defeat this sentimonster."<br/>
    "But how are we going to do that?" Ladybug said, unaware of the inky eyes staring at the trio, "It's invisible."<br/>
    "Oh, yeah, good question..." Cat Noir said, "Maybe we can--" Cat Noir was cut off by a tightness around his throat, and a sharp pinching on his cheek. He began to scream and choke at the same time, prompting Ladybug to draw her yo-yo and the Butterfly his net.<br/>
    "Sorry, kitty." Ladybug said as she threw the yo-yo at Cat Noir's face. The yo-yo appeared to stop in mid-air, and she tugged back on the string. The yo-yo pulled back from Cat Noir, causing Cat Noir to fall, only to stop again. A swirl of inky red appeared around the yo-yo and spread out, turning black as it formed a large black oval, with frills of ink around the sides and a nest of seven arms at the end.<br/>
    "A cuttlefish?" the Butterfly said as he swept the inky mass into his net.<br/>
    "I don't know if I'd call that a cuddle." Cat Noir choked out as he wrenched the severed arms off of his neck. Once he was finally free, the loose arm turned into an inky blob and floated back to the cuttlefish, where it reintegrated itself into the mass. It let go of the yo-yo and the Butterfly pressed a button at the net base, tightening the bag shut. The cuttlefish, however, turned its arms into ink and slipped them through the mesh before grabbing onto the rim of the net. It pulled on the metal ring, using all of its super strength to try and force the bag open.<br/>
    "That net is indestructible, right?" Ladybug said.<br/>
    "It should be," the Butterfly confirmed, "but I don't know about in-force-open-able." The arms continued to pull, but the bag stayed shut. At this point, the arms stretched out and felt around the handle, and eventually one found its way to the Butterfly's hand. It pressed down on his index finger, depressing the button on the handle and opening the bag up. The cuttlefish flew up from the sock as the Butterfly pressed the button again. The bag pulled closed around the cuttlefish mantle, but the creature slipped out and turned a pale brown, disappearing into the woodwork. Cat Noir swung his staff at the air where it was last visible but struck nothing.<br/>
    "Where did it go?" Cat Noir said.<br/>
    "I don't know." the Butterfly said.<br/>
    "I don't think there's any way to know." Ladybug said, "Unless... Lucky Charm!" Ladybug threw her yo-yo into the air, releasing a swarm of ladybugs into the air. The ladybugs congregated together, and with a flash of pink light dropped a mortar and pestle into Ladybug's hand.<br/>
    "What am I supposed to do with this?" she said, looking around for something to connect it to, with no success.<br/>
    "Maybe they want you to mix up a potion of truesight." the Butterfly joked.<br/>
    "Wait a minute, I think I got it!" Ladybug said, "Boys, keep an eye out for that monster, just in case. I have an errand to run." Ladybug jumped up to a window and climbed out before swinging away.<br/>
    "Does she do this often?" the Butterfly asked.<br/>
    "Not that I'm aware of." Cat Noir replied, "So... I guess we're on patrol duty?"<br/>
    "You take left, I take right?"<br/>
    "Sounds good. Call me if you see that thing again." Cat Noir and the Butterfly started walking in opposite directions, while Ladybug made her way across Paris.</p><p>    Master Fu sat meditating in his shop, bathed in light from the papered window, when Marinette ran in the door.<br/>
    "Master, my Lucky Charm told me to come here again." she said, holding out the mortar and pestle.<br/>
    "A new sentimonster, too powerful for the three of you alone." Master Fu mused, "I feared something like this would happen." Master Fu stood up and walked over to his phonograph machine. He pressed the two dragon eyes, then three buttons on the newly exposed keypad. The top of the machine opened up in layers, revealing the Miracle Box within. Master Fu took the box out of the machine and presented it to Marinette, lid open and drawers extended.<br/>
    "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, pick an ally you can trust on this mission. Choose wisely; such powers are meant to serve the greater good. Once the mission is over, you will retrieve the Miraculous from them and return it to me." Marinette's hand hovered over the box for a moment.<br/>
    "I need an ally who can draw my opponent out of hiding..." Marinette thought out loud.<br/>
    "Do you have someone in mind, Marinette?" After another moment, she quickly swept up a gold pendant in the shape of a fox's tail.<br/>
    "I know just the right person."</p><p>    Alya sat in the back row of the house, listening to the eerie silence of the crowd. David and Stuart were creeping back and forth on the stage, wondering where Adrien might have gotten to. As she pulled up a text conversation with Marinette, she got an anonymous text notification.<br/>
    "I'm just outside the door" followed by a fox emoji. Alya looked around the room and saw no eyes on her, so she quietly stood up and walked over to the door. She slipped out the door, closing it as slowly as possible to minimize the sound. On the other side, Alya saw Ladybug clutching a dark wood box.<br/>
    "What's the sitch, LB?" Alya asked.<br/>
    "I have a plan to take down this sentimonster," Ladybug explained, "but I need your help. Ready for another round?"<br/>
    "Ready, Ladybug." Alya said. Ladybug held out the wooden box.<br/>
    "Alya Cesaire, here is the Miraculous of the Fox, which grants the power of illusion. You will use it for the greater good." Alya took the box, and Ladybug continued, "Once the job is done, you will return the Miraculous to me. Can I trust you?"<br/>
    "Totally, Ladybug." Alya opened the box, and an orange glow flew out from inside, taking the shape of a fox fairy.<br/>
    "Alya!" the creature said, "It's been a while."<br/>
    "Good to see you again, too, Trixx." Alya said as she slipped the necklace over her head, "I'm afraid there's no time to chatter, though. My BFF is in trouble, and I need to help her. Trixx, let's pounce!" Trixx flew into Alya's Miraculous, and it flashed a bright orange. Alya crossed her arms over her chest and spread them out, causing an orange and white mask to appear on her face. She brought her arms back down, and an orange and white costume appeared around her body, with small pawprint symbols on the soles of her black boots. She flicked her black-gloved hands up from her head, and a pair of fox-ear pieces appeared in her hair. She flicked her hands again, down from her back this time, and a fox-tail cape came down behind her legs. A spin and a pose later, and Rena Rouge's transformation was complete.<br/>
    "Okay," Rena Rouge said, "What's the plan?"</p><p>    Cat Noir wandered through the halls, fidgeting with his staff as he paced back and forth. As he struck a random pose, he heard a familiar scream.<br/>
    "Help me! This thing is after me!" Marinette screamed as she ran past.<br/>
    "Don't worry, princess!" Cat Noir shouted as he dashed after her, only to feel a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see, much to his confusion, Ladybug standing behind him.<br/>
    "Princess, huh?" Ladybug teased, "I thought I was your only bugaboo." Cat Noir's gaze darted back and forth between Ladybug and where he saw Marinette running, only for Rena Rouge to step into view.<br/>
    "Sounds like somebody's busted." the fox heroine said.<br/>
    "Oh!" Cat said, "No, it's just an... inside joke, between friends. Glad to see you again, Rena Rouge."<br/>
    "Same back at ya, kitty." Rena Rouge said, "So, it sounds like there were some major developments in this relationship, huh?"<br/>
    "Hold your questions, Rena Rouge." Ladybug said, "For now, we should stick to the plan." Ladybug turned to Cat Noir, "Rena's going to draw out the sentimonster with that illusion of Marinette."<br/>
    "Ah, I get it now." Cat Noir said, "But... where's the real Marinette?"<br/>
    "Don't worry about her," Ladybug said, "she's safe. Rena, contact the Butterfly, get him up to speed."<br/>
    "Got it." Rena Rouge said, putting her flute up to her lips and pressing down on one of the holes.<br/>
    "Butterfly, this is Rena Rouge." she said into the mouthpiece, "If you see Marinette being chased by that cuttlefish thing, sweep it up in your net. Don't worry about getting Marinette, too, she'll just be a Mirage." She put the flute up to her ear and pressed another hole.<br/>
    "Roger roger." the Butterfly's voice said. Rena Rouge switched fingers again and put the flute back to her lips.<br/>
    "We'll be following her from a distance, in case anything goes wrong. Rena Rouge out." she said before stowing the flute on her back. Ladybug swept her hand forward and the three heroes ran in the direction of the Marinette illusion.</p><p>    The Butterfly stood in the opposite hallway, waiting for the moment to strike. As he twisted the net in his hand, he heard Marinette screaming.<br/>
    "Help me! This thing is after me!" she said. The Butterfly stepped off to the side and widened his net brim. "Marinette" entered his field of view, being chased by the Sepialopod. He swung his net at the two, and "Marinette" disappeared in a puff of orange smoke, but the Sepialopod stretched its arms as far as they could go to grab onto the net brim, stopping itself from going in. The Butterfly swung the net into the wall, hoping to force it in, but two jets of ink shot out through the net, grabbing onto his cowled head and tugging back. The Butterfly was brought to his feet, his net clattering to the ground, and the Sepialopod released its grip on the net frame. As it released its tentacles' grip on the Butterfly's head, Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Rena Rouge appeared. Ladybug spun her yo-yo in a circle and threw it at the Sepialopod, only for it to shoot out its tentacles at the yo-yo and pull it in towards its mouth. Ladybug was pulled to the ground, but Cat Noir struck the tentacles with his staff, severing them from the rest of the inky blob. Ladybug pulled back the yo-yo and gets back up. Rena Rouge drew her flute staff and swung it at the Sepialopod, only for it to get grabbed by the arms. Rena grabbed the flute by both ends and twisted it, wrenching her stick free from the creature's grasp. Cat Noir walked up beside Rena Rouge, mirroring her staff movements with a cheeky grin as the Sepialopod's tentacles dissolved back into its body. Rena Rouge and Cat Noir ran to either side of the monster and swung both their staffs at it at once. Their staffs collided, but the Sepialopod, having been struck in the mantle, was knocked downward slightly.<br/>
    "That's interesting." Rena Rouge said.<br/>
    "Yeah," Cat Noir said, "when I hit its tentacles earlier, it just split apart and pulled itself back together... wonder why it stayed in one piece when we hit it there."<br/>
    "Of course!" the Butterfly said as he stood himself back up, "It's a cuttlefish, that must be where it's cuttlebone is."<br/>
    "Cuttlebone?" Ladybug asked.<br/>
    "The shell inside a cuttlefish's mantle which allows it to float." he said.<br/>
    "You know? That gives me an idea." she said, "Cat Noir, Rena Rouge, keep flanking. Aim for the mantle!"<br/>
    "Right." the two affirmed simultaneously. Cat Noir and Rena Rouge both swung their staffs at the Sepialopod's mantle. Ladybug threw her yo-yo at the sentimonster's face, and the creature grabbed onto the projectile with its arms, but Ladybug slid underneath the Sepialopod, pulling on the string as she went. The Sepialopod flipped over, and Rena Rouge thrust her flute down onto the creature's belly. A metallic creaking rang out from the Sepialopod's body, and Rena Rouge lifted the staff off. The sentimonster clung to the ground with its arms and used them to flip itself upright, but it remained on the ground, immobilized.<br/>
    "Pound it!" the four said in unison as they bumped fists.<br/>
    "So, now all we need to do is find the amok." Ladybug said.<br/>
    "I think I know who it is." the Butterfly said.<br/>
    "It's Lila, isn't it?" Cat Noir said.<br/>
    "Yeah, that... makes sense." Ladybug said, "I'll go find her."<br/>
    "If it helps, I think I can sense her aura that way." the Butterfly said as he pointed in the direction the heroes came from earlier.<br/>
    "Thanks." Ladybug turned and ran in that direction.</p><p>    Lila sat slumped against the wall, salty streaks on her face as she growled. Ladybug quietly rounded the corner and saw her in the shadows.<br/>
    "Hey, Lila..." Ladybug said, startling Lila. The girl in the red jacket stood up and backed up.<br/>
    "Go away!" Lila shouted.<br/>
    "Lila, I know you're upset--"<br/>
    "That's putting it lightly! I thought I'd finally found a chance to get myself together, and that Marinette girl had to go and ruin it!"<br/>
    "I... I... I'm sorry. I understand how you feel."<br/>
    "Understand? How could you possibly understand me? Ever since you showed up, this entire city has been worshipping at your feet. You don't know what it's like to be me, there's no way you could understand me!"<br/>
    "You... you're right, Lila. I don't know what it's like to be you. I didn't understand how much my words would hurt you, when we first met. I don't think Marinette did, either. I'm... I'm sorry."<br/>
    "Sorry's not gonna cut it, Ladybug."<br/>
    Ladybug sighed, "I didn't think it would. Is... is there anything else I can do?"<br/>
    "You can leave me alone."<br/>
    "Lila, you know I can't do that. I need to help you, just like I need to help everyone."<br/>
    "What if I don't want your help?"<br/>
    "Then you need... Lila, this is about... I don't know, okay? I don't know how to fix this, all I know is... I messed up, and now people are getting hurt because of it. I... I failed you, Lila. I failed Marinette, at this point, I've probably failed all of us." Ladybug choked on her words, and Lila swore she saw tears in her eyes. She took a deep breath.<br/>
    "No, Ladybug. I'm the one who messed up."<br/>
    "Wh... what?"<br/>
    "If I hadn't gone around lying to people, I wouldn't have put myself in this position in the first place. I thought it would make things better, but I just ended up digging myself deeper until I couldn't get out of the hole." Lila pulled her locket off and tossed it to Ladybug, "It's too late for me, but no one deserves to go through what I tried to put Marinette through, no matter what they've done." Ladybug looked down at the locket in her hand, and saw the picture inside: it was Pat.<br/>
    <i>The only one willing to be her friend...</i> Ladybug thought,<i> the one she let down.<br/>
    </i>"Lila, it's never too late. I know you'll find a way to set things right."<br/>
    "How would you know?"<br/>
    "Because I know you want to, and that's all it takes." Ladybug took the open locket in both hands, hesitated for a moment, but snapped the locket on its hinge, causing the amok to drift out. Ladybug opened up her yo-yo.<br/>
    "Time to de-evilize!" she shouted as she spun her yo-yo and threw it at the amok, sweeping it up into the pool of pink energy. The yo-yo closed up and she pulled it back to her.<br/>
    "Gotcha." Ladybug said before opening the yo-yo back up, releasing the white feather. She took out the mortar and pestle and threw them in the air, shouting "Miraculous Ladybug!" as it dissolved into a swarm of ladybugs. The ladybugs gathered around the remains of Lila's locket, making it good as new, before flying away towards Cat Noir, the Butterfly, and Rena Rouge, who watched as the Sepialopod dissolved into ink, leaving behind a broken, oversized fountain pen nib instead of a cuttlebone, before that too disappeared.<br/>
    "Thank you, Ladybug." Lila choked out as Ladybug returned her locket.<br/>
    "No problem. Just keep at it, and you'll do fine. Bug out!" Ladybug said as she threw her yo-yo out the window and swung away.</p><p>    Ladybug came back to find the other heroes all leaning against the wall, satisfied with their victory. A quick glance at Rena Rouge's pendant revealed that four segments had already gone out.<br/>
    "Good work team." Ladybug said.<br/>
    "Thanks," Rena Rouge said, "I'm guessing you'll be wanting this back now, huh?"<br/>
    "Of course."<br/>
    "Okay then." Rena Rouge pushed herself off the wall and turned to her comrades.<br/>
    "It was good to finally meet you, Rena." the Butterfly said, reaching out a hand to shake.<br/>
    "You too, Butterfly."<br/>
    "I hope to work together with you again sometime."<br/>
    "We'll see." Rena Rouge walked off with Ladybug, disappearing into the shadows.</p><p>    Lila walked over to the house doors, where she saw Marinette waiting outside. Lila stopped for a moment, but then kept moving forward.<br/>
    "Hey, Lila..." Marinette said, scratching the back of her neck, "I just wanted to say, I'm... sorry for lashing out at you back there. I wasn't thinking about your feelings, and--"<br/>
    "No, it's okay. I had it coming for me. There was no way you could've known how I would've reacted. There's... a lot that you don't understand."<br/>
    "Like what?"<br/>
    "Do you really want to know?"<br/>
    "Unless you'd rather not tell me."<br/>
    Lila sat down on the bench, and Marinette sat down next to her.<br/>
    "Well, after Pat was akumatized, my parents found out that I was pretending to be overseas to cut class. They confronted me about it, and I said... some things no parent wants to hear from their kid. They decided I needed to go to therapy."<br/>
    "Therapy? For real?"<br/>
    "Yeah. And after talking with my therapist, I decided I wanted to give acting a try. I don't know, maybe I figured it'd be a good outlet, but..."<br/>
    "I... I had no idea. Now I feel really bad for what I said, knowing just how serious it was."<br/>
    "There was no way you could've known. If anything, I should be sorry, for everything I've done to everyone." Lila broke eye contact with Marinette and stared down at the floor.<br/>
    "Lila... do you still want to audition?"<br/>
    "Do you... do you think Mr. Brundle will still let me?"<br/>
    "I'm sure he'd give you a shot."<br/>
    "Well then... yeah, I'd still like to audition."</p><p>    Back in the auditorium, Lila stood on the stage opposite Adrien, holding her script as she gazed at him. Marinette and Alya watched as Lila subtly adjusted her shoulders and squared her feet just right, and cleared her throat as she prepared to speak.<br/>
    "Well, Philippe, you sure seem excited."<br/>
    "To say the least. I've just hit a major breakthrough in my research."<br/>
    "No way, for real?" Lila squealed.<br/>
    "For real. I have discovered a way to move matter from one point in space to another in a fraction of a second."<br/>
    "Shut up!" Lila giggled.<br/>
    "I'm serious. You know how particles will sometimes quantum tunnel from one point in space to another? Well, I've finally solved some equations that, at least in theory, will allow me to predict and control when and how each particle moves. Apply this formula to all the particles in an object at the same time--"<br/>
    "And you can move an object through space instantaneously! It's brilliant! we should go celebrate!"<br/>
    "Barbara, this is only the beginning. I've come so far, I can't stop now."<br/>
    Lila sighed, "Philippe, you've got so much time ahead of you for this, and even after that there will be more people to carry it on. Moments like this don't come very often, probably even once in a lifetime! I know how much this means to you, but... do you know how much you mean to me?" Everyone in the house was speechless. Somehow, it was as if Lila had completely disappeared, and the spirit of Barbara Langelaan had phased out from the pages of the book into her body. Thunderous applause roared from the stands, Marinette and Alya, in particular, clapping loudly.<br/>
    "Stuart," David muttered, "I think we have a winner."<br/>
    "Definitely." Stuart replied.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Green-Eyed Monster</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    Nathaniel sat at his desk, a sheet of sketch paper pinned to his drawing board. The paper depicted Marinette in the arms of a stick figure wearing a beret. He lightly scratched his pencil against the paper, creating a cylindrical shape around the stick figure's upper arm. Nooroo flew up beside him.<br/>    "Drawing Marinette again?" the purple kwami said, "You're not still in love with her, are you?"<br/>    "It's not just something you can turn off, Nooroo." Nathaniel said, "I thought emotions were your thing."<br/>    "They are, Nathaniel. That's exactly why I'm worried. Misplaced feelings can be really bad for everyone involved."<br/>    "I don't know what to do, Nooroo. I'm happy for Marinette and Adrien, but..."<br/>    "Jealousy can be a very dangerous thing, Nathaniel."<br/>    "I'm not jealous!" Nathaniel shouted, startling Nooroo.<br/>    "I'm sorry, master." Nooroo said, "I should've realized how sensitive this was for you."<br/>    Nathaniel took a deep breath, "It's okay, Nooroo. I'm sorry for yelling at you."<br/>    "All is forgiven." Nooroo said, "Just... try to keep your feelings under control." Nathaniel nodded and glanced down at his unfinished work. Not drawing, just looking.</p><p>    Marinette, Adrien, and Nino all sat around a table about the <i>Liberty</i>, streaming a news program on Nino's tablet.<br/>    "Our top story today, the trial of Gabriel Agreste, formerly known as the supervillain Hawk Moth, officially concluded yesterday." Nadja Chamack said, "Gabriel pled guilty to all counts of reckless endangerment and manslaughter accumulated in the over fifty akuma incidents. According to Gabriel's testimony, he sought Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous in the hopes that they could be used to revive his dead wife. While this testimony did garner sympathy, the sheer volume of crimes committed led to a minimum sentence exceeding 10,000 years in prison. Control of the Gabriel fashion brand has passed to his assistant, Nathalie Sancoeur. Rumors of an upcoming buyout are as of yet unconfirmed." Nino exited the program.<br/>    "You gonna be alright, Adrien?" Marinette asked.<br/>    "Yeah, I think so." Adrien said, gazing at the ground with a frown on his face.<br/>    "Well, if you need anyone, we'll be here for you." Nino said.<br/>    "Yeah, he's right." Marinette said.<br/>    "Thanks, guys." Adrien slumped back into his chair. Nino's tablet made a sound.<br/>    "We... need to get moving." Nino said as he tucked the tablet into his bag. The three all stood up and walked out onto the deck, where a full rock band setup was assembled. Rose and Juleka sat next to each other, chatting, while Ivan sat behind the drum set fiddling with his sticks.<br/>    "Hey, guys." Adrien said.<br/>    "Hey, Adrien." Ivan said, "We saw the news, too. You... alright?"<br/>    "I should at least be able to get through this session."<br/>    "Well, Luka always says that the best music comes from raw emotions." Juleka said as she stood up and picked up her guitar.<br/>    "Speaking of Luka, where is he?" Marinette said.<br/>    "Probably in his room below deck." Juleka said, "Knowing him, he's so caught up in some song that he probably forgot we were recording today. I should go get him." Juleka set the guitar back down and walked over to the staircase. Rose stood up and walked over to the microphone.<br/>    "Are you sure you're alright, Adrien?" she said, "I don't want you to perform if you aren't ready."<br/>    "I'll be fine, Rose." Adrien said as he took his place behind the keyboard, "Thanks, though, I appreciate that you're thinking of me."</p><p>    Luka sat on his bed, writing notes on a staff in between playing chords on his acoustic guitar. The music coming from the guitar started smooth and calming, but slowly devolved into harsh, discordant tones. Luka stopped the strings with his hand and took a couple of deep breaths. He looked down next to his sheet music at a photograph of Marinette smiling.</p><p>    Mayura stood in a solar spotlight, clutching her fan as she gazed out the window.<br/>    "A musician, whose muse has abandoned him for someone else." she said, "It practically writes itself." Mayura plucked a feather from her fan and clasped her hands around it. She opened her hands back up and blew the now blue feather out into the air.<br/>    "Fly away, beautiful amok, and give a body to this green-eyed monster." The amok drifted out the window into the Parisian sky over to the Seine, down the stairs, in through Luka's door, and into his guitar. A blue light mask appeared around his eyes as Mayura spoke in his head.<br/>    "Luka Couffaine, I am Mayura. All this jealousy is going to eat you away if you don't let it out, so I'm going to set it free to eat its fill of whatever it pleases, bring you and your love together, and seize Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous for me." Two discordant notes escaped unaided from Luka's guitar, each one creating a green eye out of thin air, strung together by five lines.</p><p>    Juleka walked up to Luka's door and knocked on it.<br/>    "Luka, we're waiting for you to record." she said, not expecting a pair of green eyes to burst through the door, grinding the wood fragments into powder between the staff lines. Juleka ran back for the stairs, but tripped over her own feet and fell to the floor, dropping her guitar.</p><p>    Nino hooked up the last of the XLR cables to his soundboard, put his headphones on, and pointed to Rose. Rose leaned into her microphone and sang a note. Nino gave a thumbs up, and Rose stopped singing. He then pointed to Adrien, who played a C chord. Nino gave another thumbs-up, and Adrien released the keys. Nino pointed at Ivan, who simultaneously tapped on the snare and kicked the bass. Nino gave another thumbs-up, and he stopped playing.<br/>    "So far we're three for three." Nino said, "Now all we need is our guitarists, wherever they've gotten off to." Marinette walked out from the ship's cabin, holding her cell phone.<br/>    "Juleka isn't picking up." she said.<br/>    "Think something could've happened to her?" Adrien said. Before anyone could answer, they heard a loud crunching noise, and the Green-Eyed Monster burst through the deck. Everyone screamed in terror as the monster swooped over to Adrien, but Rose got in between the two. The monster, however, grabbed her with its staff lines, sucking her screaming into an empty void. The monster then locked its eyes back on Adrien. Marinette jumped up and dove for him, but the monster swallowed him whole. It turned to face Marinette, drawing in slowly, but Ivan grabbed an eye in each hand, allowing Marinette to stand up and run away. Ivan, however, was soon grabbed by the staff lines as well and sucked into apparent oblivion. Marinette and Nino both ran away from the creature but stopped at the edge of the deck.<br/>    "Should we dive for it?" Nino said.<br/>    "I don't think we have many other options." Marinette said as she looked over at her shoulder. The Green-Eye Monster was now less than a few meters away and drawing ever closer. Suddenly, a silver blur swept in front of them, and the monster disappeared. Marinette and Nino looked up to see the Butterfly holding the monster in his net, which was pinched shut at the end.<br/>    "That oughta hold it." he said, "Are you two alright?"<br/>    "Uh... yeah. Thanks for saving me again." Marinette said.<br/>    "No problem. Rescuing pretty young women is part of the job."<br/>    "That's cute, but I'm taken."<br/>    "Hardly a surprise."<br/>    "Umm... Butterfly?" Nino said, pointing towards the net. The Butterfly turned his head to see the Green-Eyed Monster's stringy mouth peeking out through the top of the net. Before long two staff lines had come out and swept around the net, startling the Butterfly into dropping the silver object. The monster swallowed the net whole and flew towards the Butterfly. Marinette ran around to the other side of the cabin, out of sight for both Nino and the Butterfly. She opened up her purse, releasing Tikki.<br/>    "Time to transform!" she whispered loudly, "Tikki, spots on!" Marinette cocked her head to one side, and Tikki flew into her left earring, turning it from black to red with black spots. She slid her hands across her face, and a red and black-spotted mask appeared. She snapped her arms out to the sides, and a red and black-spotted costume appeared around them, and then down her torso and legs. A similarly colored yo-yo appeared on her hip, held on by the string. Ladybug spun on her toes and assumed a fighting stance.</p><p>    The Green-Eyed Monster flew, mouth open, at the Butterfly, but he jumped over it and did a flip. The monster made another pass, but this time the Butterfly rolled underneath and kicked it in one of its eyes.<br/>    "You, get to safety." the Butterfly called down to Nino.<br/>    "What about Marinette?"<br/>    "What about her?"<br/>    "She's gone!"<br/>    "What?! Where?"<br/>    "Don't worry." Ladybug said as she flew overhead, wrapping up the staff lines with her yo-yo string before landing on the deck, "Marinette is safe."<br/>    "Glad to hear it." the Butterfly said, "Where's Cat Noir?"<br/>    "I haven't been able to contact him, he's probably off on some wild goose chase." The Green-Eyed Monster flexed its staff lines, forcing the yo-yo string to unwrap itself. Ladybug ran at the monster and punched it in its right eye, then grabbed onto it and kicked it. The Butterfly jumped over the monster and grabbed onto the other eye. The monster, however, pulled its eyes together, bashing the two heroes' heads together. They stood back up, still shaking somewhat. Ladybug spun her yo-yo and threw it at the monster's eye. The monster, however, shifted to the side, and the yo-yo entered its mouth. It began to pull on the string, causing Ladybug to slide across the ground, but the Butterfly grabbed onto the string and helped her pull back. Eventually, the yo-yo came back out, covered in green saliva, but still intact.<br/>    "We're gonna need a new strategy." the Butterfly said.<br/>    "Agreed, retreat and regroup." Ladybug said before striking both of the creature's eyes with her yo-yo, stunning it before the two heroes ran away, grabbing Nino as they made their way to the back of the boat. The Butterfly shut the door, latched it, and reached for his hip, only to feel nothing there. The Butterfly groaned as he walked over to one end of a large desk.<br/>    "Help me barricade this door." he said, and Nino came over to grab the other end of the desk. They lifted it together and carried it in front of the door.<br/>    "Will that hold it?" Ladybug asked.<br/>    "It's the best we got." Nino said.<br/>    "Okay, let's go through our assets." the Butterfly said, "We have the three of us, your yo-yo and Lucky Charm, and my tenshi. That's all I can think of."<br/>    "We're gonna need to get creative then." Ladybug said, looking down at her saliva-covered yo-yo, "Hmm, it's not digested. Maybe we could use this to try and fish out--" Ladybug was interrupted by the sound of crunching wood, and the Green-Eyed Monster burst through the wall. Nino picked up the captain's chair and threw it at the monster, but it swallowed the chair whole. The monster swooped over to Ladybug, but she swung her yo-yo at its eyes, stunning it. She then threw her yo-yo into the air.<br/>    "Lucky Charm!" she shouted as a swarm of ladybugs emerged from the yo-yo's pink aura, and dropped a candle into her hands.<br/>    "Does it want us to burn something? Should I bring back Flintlock?" The Butterfly said before getting tackled by the monster. Ladybug looked around but saw no way to use the candle against the Monster.<br/>    "No, I don't think that's what it wants." she said as she turned the candle over in her hands, "But it does look familiar... I got it! Butterfly, you keep it busy. I have an errand to run."<br/>    "Again?" the Butterfly said, but Ladybug had already taken off.</p><p>    Master Fu stood in front of his desk, lighting up a scented candle with a long match when Marinette burst through the door.<br/>    "Master, I need your help." she said.<br/>    "Marinette?" Master Fu said as he waved the match, snuffing the flame, "What's going on?"<br/>    "There's a sentimonster that's eating everything in its path, it's already eaten Adrien, and we have no idea how to stop it."<br/>    "Oh no, this is terrible." Master Fu turned back to his desk and pressed the two dragon eyes on the front of his phonograph. The dragon plaque opened up, exposing a set of buttons. Master Fu pressed three of the buttons, causing the top of the phonograph to open up, revealing the Miracle Box inside. Master Fu took the mahogany box out of the machine, and set it on the floor between him and Marinette.<br/>    "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, pick an ally you can trust on this mission." he said as he opened the box, "Choose wisely; such powers are meant to serve the greater good. Once the mission is over, you will retrieve the Miraculous from them and return it to me." Marinette's hand hovered over the box as her eyes darted between magic jewels.<br/>    "I need a protective Miraculous..." Marinette said, "None of these are right."<br/>    "If what you need is something protective," Wayzz said as he flew into view, "you're going to need my Miraculous."<br/>    "Really?" Marinette said, "Master, if you would be willing..." Master Fu looked down at his wrist.<br/>    "If the monster already has Adrien," he said, "then Mayura already has one of the two Miraculous she needs. If she gets your Miraculous, she'll be unstoppable." Master Fu removed the bracelet from his wrist, sucking Wayzz into it. He put the bracelet into a smaller wooden box and handed it to Marinette.<br/>    "If you're sure this is the power you need, then I trust you to put it in the right hands."<br/>    "I know just the person for it, Master."</p><p>    The Butterfly tussled with the Green-Eyed Monster, holding its mouth shut with his fist. The thing slapped him with its right eye, causing his grip to loosen enough for it to break out. It swooped down at him, but the purple hero rolled out of the way, causing the creature to leave a hole in the ship's deck. Nino sat huddled in the corner of the cabin when Ladybug swung down on her yo-yo string, holding the small wooden box.<br/>    "Ladybug, you're back!" Nino said.<br/>    "Yeah, I am. Now quiet down, we don't want to draw attention."<br/>    "Right."<br/>    "We need something to protect us while we fight the monster, but that's gonna take an extra set of hands."<br/>    "You don't mean..." Nino trailed off as Ladybug held up the box to him.<br/>    "Nino Lahiffe, this is the Miraculous of the Turtle, which grants the power of protection. You will use it for the greater good."<br/>    Nino took the box out of Ladybug's hands.<br/>    "Once the mission is complete," she continued, "you must return the Miraculous to me. Can I trust you?"<br/>    "100%, Ladybug." Nino said before opening the box, causing a ball of blinding green light to appear. When it disappeared, he saw a green hexagonal bracelet with a black string sitting on red velvet, and Wayzz hovering over it.<br/>    "Hello, my name is Wayzz." the turtle kwami said.<br/>    "Cool, are you like a genie or something?" Nino said.<br/>    "No, I'm a kwami. I don't grant wishes, but I do grant powers."<br/>    "Great, how does it work?" Nino slipped the bracelet onto his wrist.<br/>    "Just say 'Wayzz, shell on.'"<br/>    "Wayzz, shell on." Nino said, and Wayzz was sucked into the bracelet, transforming it into a black turtle shape with five green wedges on its shell. A green glove appeared on Nino's hand, which extended down to his arm. As it reached his torso, he got down on the floor and spun on his back. The green mesh grew to cover the rest of his body, and a turtle-shell shield appeared on his back. He stood up from his backspin and reached behind his head. A hood appeared in his hands, and he pulled it up over his head, causing a pair of goggles to drop down over his eyes. His transformation complete, Nino looked down at his new costume.<br/>    "Awesome!" he said, "I'm... Carapace! Yeah, that's a cool name, Carapace."<br/>    "Well, Carapace, come with me, we have a monster to fight."</p><p>    The Butterfly punched the Monster in the eye before leaping over it. He kicked at the monster, but it spun around and grabbed his leg in its mouth. The Butterfly struggled against the sucking of the monster's mouth, but lost his footing and fell to his back. He soon heard a plastic clattering, however, and saw Ladybug's yo-yo sitting by his arm. He grabbed onto the string, and felt a strong pull free him from the monster's jaws. He stood up, brushed himself off, and saw Ladybug and Carapace standing side by side.<br/>    "I hope you don't mind me bringing along another friend." Ladybug said.<br/>    "Hey, especially with Cat Noir AWOL, we're gonna need all the help we can get. What's your name, by the way?"<br/>    "Carapace." the turtle hero said.<br/>    "Pleasure to meet you, Carapace." the Butterfly reached out and shook Carapace's hand, "So, what's the plan?" Before anyone could answer, the Green-Eyed Monster flew in for another attack. Carapace, however, jumped in front of it and threw up his shield.<br/>    "Shell-ter!" he shouted, and a green hexagon-patterned force field appeared around the three heroes. The force field stopped the monster in its tracks. It tried chewing through but failed to penetrate.<br/>    "Butterfly, you can sense negative emotions, right?" Ladybug said, "Any idea who could've been amokized?"<br/>    "Hang on." the purple-clad hero said, placing his fingers to his temples.</p><p>    <i>Why doesn't she love me?</i> the voice in his head said, <i>What does Adrien have that I don't?<br/>    He's in love with Marinette, too?</i> the Butterfly thought, <i>Focus, Nath. Where is he?</i> The Butterfly concentrated even harder and sensed a ball of green energy a few meters ahead of him and just below deck.</p><p>    "He's below deck!" the Butterfly said.<br/>    "Let's go, then." Carapace said, and the three heroes ran for the stairs to the lower deck. Once down there, they saw the broken door to Luka's room and started to move towards it, but the Green-Eyed Monster burrowed down through the ceiling, landing in their path. Carapace held up his shield, but he noticed one wedge of his bracelet flashing.<br/>    "I hope you have a plan to get past it." the turtle hero said.<br/>    "Lucky Charm!" Ladybug said, throwing her yo-yo into the air a second time. A red and black-spotted guitar pick fell into her hand, and she took a look at her surroundings. She saw Juleka's guitar lying on the floor, and Luka sitting on his bed.</p><p>    <i>Luka patted a spot on his bed, beckoning Marinette to take a seat. She sat down.<br/>    "That's strange," he said, "it seems you have something like... this in your heart." Luka strummed on his guitar, each note falling into place to create a beautiful melody. Marinette was transfixed: it was as if the guitar strings were resonating with the vibrations of her heartstrings. When he finally stopped, there was only one thing she could think to say.<br/>    "How did you do that?"<br/>    "Music is often simpler than words." Luka said.</i></p><p>Ladybug looked up at the monster and smirked.<br/>    "Carapace, drop your shield."<br/>    "What?" the Butterfly said.<br/>    "Are you sure?" Carapace said.<br/>    "I have a plan." Ladybug said. Carapace reluctantly lowered his arm and Ladybug dove for the guitar. The monster flew towards her, but she strummed on the guitar strings with the pick. The note came out shrill and grating, but it at least startled the monster. Ladybug took a deep breath and strummed again. This time the chord came out much softer and more harmonic. Ladybug continued playing, mimicking the movements she saw Luka make months before. As the monster listened to Ladybug's music, it slowed down, and its green eyes seemed to grow heavier.<br/>    "The music's putting it to sleep?" the Butterfly muttered.<br/>    "It's really something powerful." Carapace added. Eventually, the monster's eyes fell shut, and it stopped moving completely. Ladybug set the guitar down on the floor and walked over to what remained of Luka's door, followed by the Butterfly and Carapace. Luka sat on his bed, looking strangely emaciated as he clutched his guitar for dear life.<br/>    "Luka, are you alright?" Ladybug said.<br/>    "Leave me alone." Luka snarled.<br/>    "Luka, I don't know what Mayura's done to you, but--"<br/>    "She didn't do anything to me! I've been like this all summer, this is just the first time anyone's seeing it."<br/>    "I... I don't understand." Ladybug said. The Butterfly put his hand on her shoulder.<br/>    "I do." he said, eliciting a confused gasp from Ladybug. The Butterfly walked up to Luka and sat down next to him.<br/>    "You're in love with someone who's already with someone else, right?" he said.<br/>    "Yeah." Luka said.<br/>    "I've been there, too. You see them together all the time, and you want to be happy for them, but... it's not easy." Luka nodded, "Jealousy can be a dangerous thing, Luka. It can make you lose sight of things, do things you'll regret, it can even..." the Butterfly reached out to touch Luka's gaunt wrist, "eat you away from the inside."<br/>    "Well then... what should I do?"<br/>    "That's... something I'm still trying to figure out for myself. But I know this isn't it. If Marinette doesn't love you, there's nothing you can do to change it." The blue light mask appeared around Luka's face again.<br/>    "Don't listen to him, Luka." she said, "Who is he to tell you how to feel?" Luka growled in between deep breaths as if he were dragging a massive stone up a hill.<br/>    "I love Marinette... I want her to be happy... and this won't make her happy." Luka held out his guitar.<br/>    "If that's the decision you've made..." Mayura started, and Luka doubled over in pain, his fist clenching around the neck of his guitar. The Butterfly grabbed hold of the guitar and pulled on it, but Luka held firmly. He tugged harder, causing the neck to snap at the body. The blue feather drifted out from the broken instrument into the air. Ladybug took out her yo-yo and opened it up.<br/>    "No more evildoing for you, little amok." she said as she spun the yo-yo behind her, "Time to de-evilize!" Ladybug threw the open yo-yo at the amok, catching it inside.<br/>    "Gotcha!" she said as she pulled the yo-yo back into her hand. She opened up the yo-yo again, releasing the white feather.<br/>    "Bye bye, little feather," she said before throwing her guitar pick into the air, "Miraculous Ladybug!" The guitar pick dissolved into a swarm of ladybugs, which flew all around the boat, repairing every broken door, wall, and deck, as well as placing everyone back where they were before getting eaten. Even Luka's guitar was repaired. A puff of blue smoke appeared around Luka, restoring him to his original state. Ladybug, the Butterfly, and Carapace all bumped fists.<br/>    "Pound it!" the trio said.</p><p>    "Your little speech may have won over Luka," Mayura said, "But I'm afraid, my dear Butterfly, that my envy only grows stronger every day that your friends' Miraculous elude me. And I don't care who I have to hurt, that power will be mine!"</p><p>    Marinette, Nino, and Luka walked up to the stage, where everyone was in place apart from Adrien, who was sitting on the deck against a wall. Marinette walked up to him, and kneeled down to his level.<br/>    "Adrien... are you alright?" she asked. Adrien threw his arms around Marinette and began sobbing. Marinette put her arm around Adrien, and patted him on the back.<br/>    "It's been a terrible day for you, I know." she said, "Everything's going to be okay." Adrien continued to cry on Marinette's shoulder.<br/>    "Adrien, if you'd prefer to record some other day, when you're feeling better..." Nino said.<br/>    "Yeah, I agree with Nino." Juleka added, "If this isn't a good time for you..." Adrien stood up and wiped his eyes.<br/>    "No... I'll be fine." he said.<br/>    "Adrien, really. It's okay if you need some more time." Ivan said, "It's not like we're on a strict deadline or anything."<br/>    "Maybe I can help." Luka chimed in, plugging his electric guitar into the amplifier on stage. He strummed on the strings and began to play. The melody was slow and slightly melancholy, but gradually shifted to something more soothing, echoing the melody Ladybug played before. And as the music shifted, so to did its effect on Adrien become more apparent. Like a skydiver slowed by a parachute, Adrien seemed less depressed as the music grew less depressing. By the time Luka strummed his final chord, Adrien had gone from crying to smiling.<br/>    "Feel better?" Luka said as he set his guitar down and climbed off the stage.<br/>    "Yeah, thanks." Adrien replied, "I... really appreciate it."<br/>    "Hey, no problem. Think you're ready to record now?"<br/>    Adrien took a deep breath, "Yeah, I think so."<br/>    "Okay then, let's get to it." Nino said before walking back to his computer, and Adrien walked up to his keyboard.<br/>    "Luka, that was amazing!" Marinette said, "How did you do that?"<br/>    "Music is often simpler than words, Marinette." Luka said, "Listen, Marinette, I..."<br/>    "Yes, Luka?"<br/>    "I'm... I'm really glad to see you're happy with Adrien."<br/>    "Aw, thanks, Luka."<br/>    "I hope things work out for you going forward."<br/>    "Luka, we're still waiting on you." Juleka called.<br/>    "I guess that's my cue."<br/>    "Break a leg."<br/>    Luka climbed back on stage and picked up his guitar. Nino gave a thumbs up to the band, and Ivan tapped his drum sticks together four times.</p><p>    The Butterfly flew in through his bedroom window, landing with a tuck and roll.<br/>    "Wings fall." he said, and his purple and black costume gave way to his normal orange tee shirt and purple jeans. He walked over to his bed and picked up his black blazer. As he slipped the sleeves of the jacket on, Nooroo flew up to next to his face.<br/>    "You handled that really well, Nathaniel." the purple kwami said.<br/>    "Thanks, Nooroo." Nathaniel said as he pulled out his chair, "You were right about jealousy being dangerous." He looked down at the sketch he was working on earlier.<br/>    "You were right about me being jealous, too." Nathaniel picked up the drawing and stared at it. With a deep breath, he tore it in half, tossing the ripped pieces into his wastebasket.<br/>    "I guess you're gonna need a new inspiration now, huh?"<br/>    "Probably." Nathaniel said as he pulled out his phone. He pulled up Photogram and saw a picture of Alix and Kim racing on the Trocadero, posted under the handle <b>kubdelracing</b> with the text "Throwback to the time I left this meathead <b>lechienkim</b> in the dust".<br/>    <i>That was fun to watch.</i> Nathaniel thought, <i>I've been meaning to do more action shots, too.</i> Nathaniel set the phone down on his desk and put a new paper on the drawing board. He drew a stick figure in a running pose, with circles at the bottoms of its feet and speed lines coming off the back.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Toxicouer</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After a shopping trip with Chloe turns sour, Sabrina is amokized, creating the Toxicouer: a sentimonster that turns people into zombies using the poison in its arteries. Overwhelmed by the sheer volume of mooks, Ladybug, Cat Noir, and the Butterfly find themselves in need of urgent assistance from an unlikely source.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    Chloe and Sabrina walked through an aisle of the Gabriel store, looking around at hats while they each carried a shirt hanger. Chloe picked a black and white striped beret from one of the shelves and handed it to Sabrina.<br/>    "Here, try this on." the blonde said, "I think it would look good on you." Sabrina took the beret out of Chloe's hands and situated it on her head. She looked into the mirror at the end of the aisle. She smiled at the reflection and posed.<br/>    "You're right, Chloe." the ginger girl said, her heart racing inside her chest, "It does look good."<br/>    "Of course. When it comes to fashion, have I ever steered you wrong?"<br/>    Sabrina frowned at Chloe's words. She remembered all the times Chloe criticized her appearance. How she said that green just wasn't a good color on her, leading to her completely abandoning her old green wardrobe for purple and blue; the episode with the cashmere sweater vest, which ended with Sabrina getting amokized.<br/>    "No, never." Sabrina said. She remembered all the times that Chloe used her. Every homework assignment she dumped on her, every field trip she made her pack extra for, everything she made her steal. She remembered every rude comment Chloe threw at her. All the times she berated her, or pretended she didn't exist. All the time, her classmates asked the same question.</p>
<p>    <i>"Why are you still friends with her?"<br/></i><br/>    Sabrina never knew how to answer, even though she knew exactly what the reason was. There was just something about Chloe. She was so confident, so determined, and so beautiful. Sabrina didn't want to admit it, but... she was in love.</p>
<p>    "Sabrina? Are you alright?" Chloe asked, snapping Sabrina out of her daze.<br/>    "Oh, I'm, uh..." Sabrina stammered, "Yeah, I'm fine. Mind if I go try this on?" Sabrina held up the yellow blouse.<br/>    "Sure, go ahead." Chloe said, and Sabrina went into the changing room. Instead of changing, however, she sat down on the bench and slumped against the wall. She took the beret off her head and sighed.</p>
<p>    Mayura stood in a spot of sunlight in a dark blue room, clutching her hand fan as she gazed into the skyline.<br/>    "Poor girl, so in love with something so toxic." she said, plucking a feather from her fan, "Oh, how I adore young love, such a perfect breeding ground for negative emotions." Mayura clasped her hands around the white feather, charging it with dark energy and turning it blue. She blew the feather out of her hand like a kiss, and it drifted out into the city on a breeze.<br/>    "Fly away, my beautiful amok." Mayura commanded, "Give the entire world a taste of the poison in this girl's heart!"</p>
<p>    The amok drifted through the air, over the heads of unsuspecting shoppers until it slipped through the crack of the changing room door. It landed on the beret, turning it blue as a light mask appeared around Sabrina's bespectacled eyes.<br/>    "Hello again, Sabrina Raincomprix." Mayura's voice said in her head, "Your heart has been poisoned by a toxic love, and I don't think it's fair that you should suffer in solitude. Don't you agree?"<br/>    "Y-yes." Sabrina said.<br/>    "Then let's begin." The light mask disappeared, and a cloud of green-brown smoke burst from Sabrina's chest, and from that cloud came a gigantic black, beating heart with green veins and arteries that acted like tendrils.</p>
<p>    Nathaniel stepped out from a storefront, holding a bag that read "<span class="u">Wilfried Boutique D'Artisanat</span>".<br/>    "Okay, that's everything I wanted to get from there." Nathaniel said as he took out his wallet, looking at the money inside, "Still got some to spare, too." The red-haired boy looked around at the various storefronts but stopped when he heard his mobile ringing in his pocket. He took the phone out and saw that the call was from Alix. He swiped the green icon and put the phone to his ear.<br/>    "Sup, Alix?" he said.<br/>    "Hey, Nath." a girl's voice said on the other end, "Whatcha up to?"<br/>    "Oh, I just finished restocking on art supplies at Wilfried's, now I'm thinking about checking out a couple of other stores, why do you ask?"<br/>    "Nice, that's the shopping center by the museum, right?"<br/>    "Yeah."<br/>    "Well, I was thinking about hitting up this sushi place a couple of streets down for lunch. Wanna come with?"<br/>    "Oh, uh, sure, I guess."<br/>    "Great. I'll call you when I'm ready to go, then we can meet up?"<br/>    "Sounds good." Nathaniel said, "See you then. Bye."<br/>    "Bye." Alix said, and Nathaniel ended the call. Nathaniel went back to looking around, and a storefront with the words "<span class="u">Hot Button</span>" above the door caught his eye. He looked at the selection of t-shirts in the window. Some of them bore images of album covers, others of video game and anime characters. Nathaniel took a few steps towards the shop when suddenly he heard screaming. He ran off in the direction of the sound and saw the cause of the panic: a crowd of faceless humanoid figures with green-brown skin covered in green veins, stumbling through the hall and attacking the other shoppers.<br/>    "Let him go!" a familiar girl's voice screamed.<br/>    "Marinette?" he muttered as he looked, and saw Marinette tugging on one of the zombie's arms, which was wrapped tightly around Adrien.<br/>    "Get out of here!" the blonde boy said, struggling to break free, "I can handle myself!" Nathaniel threw his shopping bag off to the side and bolted towards the two. He grabbed hold of Adrien's jacket collar with one hand and the monster's wrist with the other. He gave a strong pull, but the monster held firm.<br/>    "Nathan?" Marinette said, "Here, let's work together." Marinette grabbed onto the mook's other arm and pulled as hard as she could. Nathaniel nodded and pulled even harder on the arm. The creature resisted, but Nathaniel put his foot up onto the monster's side and pushed against it, yanking the arm away and freeing Adrien. The monster slammed Nathaniel on the chest in retaliation, knocking him to the floor, but Adrien and Marinette ran away. The monster walked up to Nathaniel, making a gurgling growl, but Nathaniel threw his legs up and kicked it in the chest. The monster stumbled backward and tripped over a railing, falling to a lower story. Nathaniel pushed himself back up to his feet and ran away.</p>
<p>    Marinette and Adrien ducked behind a column. Tikki flew out of Marinette's purse, and Plagg from Adrien's messenger bag.<br/>    "I thought Mayura could only make one sentimonster at a time." Adrien said.<br/>    "Me, too." Marinette said, "I guess these things aren't sentimonsters."<br/>    "What do you think they are then?" Plagg asked.<br/>    "I don't know, but they're still running amok." Adrien said.<br/>    "Right, we need to stop them." Marinette said, "Tikki, spots on!" Tikki flew into Marinette's black earrings.<br/>    "Plagg, claws out!" Plagg was sucked into Adrien's silver ring. Marinette ran her hands out from the bridge of her nose, and a red and black-spotted mask appeared over her eyes. Adrien slid two fingers across his face and a black mask materialized. Marinette snapped her arm out to one side, and a red, spotted mesh sleeve appeared over it, while Adrien ran his fingers through his hair, causing two cat ear-shaped hairpieces to appear. Adrien snapped both arms out to the sides, and a black leather-like mesh costume appeared around his body. A ladybug-shaped yo-yo appeared on Marinette's costumed hip, while a belt appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around his waist, the excess forming a tail. Ladybug and Cat Noir assumed a fighting stance next to each other.</p>
<p>    Nathaniel slammed the door of the bathroom stall behind him. He bent down to check beneath the stall dividers: he saw no feet. He slid his jacket off, and Nooroo flew out from the inside pocket.<br/>    "Any idea what those things were?" Nathaniel asked.<br/>    "They can't be sentimonsters," Nooroo said, "Mayura can only make one at a time. I did sense something, though."<br/>    "What do you mean? Like, negative emotions?"<br/>    "Yeah."<br/>    Nathaniel paused, and thought for a moment.<br/>    "Maybe it's like Darkblade, where there's only one sentimonster but it's turning people into slaves. Whatever it is, we need to stop them."<br/>    "Right."<br/>    "Nooroo, wings rise!" Nooroo flew into Nathaniel's brooch, and it sprouted a pair of butterfly-like wings. Nathaniel slid his hands over his face and hair, causing a purple cowl with a silver butterfly mask to appear. The purple continued down over his shoulders and onto his chest, where a large black butterfly symbol appeared. Then purple sleeves appeared on his arms, ending in a pair of black gloves with cuffs like butterfly wings. Rounding out his costume was the continuation of the purple down his legs into a pair of black boots, and a silver butterfly net materializing on his hip.</p>
<p>    Ladybug and Cat Noir ran up to the horde of mooks, now almost fifty strong. Five of the green figures stumbled towards the two heroes, but Cat Noir drew his staff and swung it, knocking two of them to the ground. Ladybug spun her yo-yo and tossed it around the waist of one of the monsters. She pulled the figure closer and headbutted it, causing it to collapse. As she unwrapped her yo-yo, Cat Noir split his staff into two sticks and slammed them into the other monsters' necks. They both stumbled sideways but stayed upright. Ladybug threw her yo-yo around the outstretched arm of one of the zombies, grabbing it by the wrist.<br/>    "Get down, kitty." Ladybug said, and Cat Noir dove to the ground. Ladybug turned herself in place, spinning the monster in a circle and knocking the other one down. As Cat Noir pushed himself back up, the Butterfly ran in.<br/>    "Hey, thanks for saving some for me." the Butterfly said.<br/>    "Don't mention it." Cat Noir said. The three turned back to the mob, which had now grown by almost half.<br/>    "Where do these things keep coming from?" Ladybug asked.<br/>    "I bet it's a sentimonster." the Butterfly said.<br/>    "What do you mean?" Ladybug said, "Mayura can only make one sentimonster at a time."<br/>    "I mean--" the Butterfly was cut off by a large shadow approaching them. The gigantic heart monster floated towards them, its artery tendrils writhing as it approached the trio. Three arteries shot towards them, but Cat Noir swung his staff, knocking them away. The tendrils latched onto three shoppers huddled in a corner, and they transformed into more of the green zombies.<br/>    "Something like that." The Butterfly finished his sentence.<br/>    "We need to keep it contained." Ladybug said, "Butterfly, your net."<br/>    "Right." The Butterfly tapped the moth-shaped button on his net shaft, causing it to expand as he swung it at the giant monster. The monster, however, shot out a vein at the net, which wrapped around the shaft and pulled, forcing it out of the purple hero's hand. The monster tossed the net aside and hovered towards the heroes. It fired out three more arteries, but Ladybug was able to deflect them with her spinning yo-yo shield. The heart monster passed over the three heroes and flew towards the main area of the shopping center. The Butterfly ran over to grab his net off the floor.<br/>    "We gotta go after it." Cat Noir said.<br/>    "Not so fast, kitty." Ladybug said, "We need to come up with a strategy." Ladybug put her hand to her chin to think but was grabbed by one of the mooks. Ladybug spun around and threw the green person to the ground.<br/>    "I think our first order of business should be to take care of these things." Cat Noir said as he fought a pushing contest against another monster.<br/>    "But how?" the Butterfly said. "There's too many of them. We don't have enough hands!"<br/>    <i>I don't have enough hands!</i> a woman's voice said in the Butterfly's head, startling him.<br/>    "Butterfly, everything okay?" Ladybug said. The Butterfly shook his head, clearing the shock.<br/>    "Yeah, I'm fine." he said, "In fact..." the Butterfly put his fingers to his temples and focused on the voice.</p>
<p>    <i>"Otis," the voice said, "Where are Alya and Nora?"<br/>    "I just got a call from Nora," a man's voice said, "she just checked for Alya at the Pear Store, but she's not there."<br/>    "She's not there?!"<br/>    "Ran off to get footage for that blog, I'm sure." A smaller voice cried out.<br/>    "Ella, get back here!" the woman said, "Etta... where's Etta?!"<br/>    "Hang on, Marlena," Otis said, "I see her."</i></p>
<p>The Butterfly opened his eyes.<br/>    "I have an idea." he said, holding his hand out towards an open window. Within a few moments, a white butterfly fluttered in and landed in his palm. He clasped the other hand around it.<br/>    "Fly, tenshi!" he cried as a purple glow came from between his fingers. He opened his hands, and the butterfly, now purple, fluttered in the direction that the monster left. It flew around the large open space for a moment, until it found its target: Marlena Cesaire, who was struggling to keep her twin daughters by her side as she tried to evade the zombies. The butterfly landed on Marlena's purse, turning it purple as a butterfly-shaped light mask appeared around her face.<br/>    "Multimom, Butterfly." the Butterfly's voice said in her head, "You need help keeping track of your family, we need help fighting off these zombie things. What do you say we kill two birds with one stone?"<br/>    "Yes!" she said, "This trip is becoming a nightmare!"<br/>    "Good. I'm giving you the power to duplicate yourself, so you can find your daughter, and keep these monsters at bay, all without letting anyone else out of your sight. Use these powers well." The light mask disappeared, and Marlena was enveloped in purple energy. When the glow faded, her white chef shirt and blue pants had been replaced with a one-piece pink bodysuit with yellow arms and legs, along with a pink butterfly mask edged in dark blue. Across the chest was a self-similar M fractal, and around her waist, wrists, and ankles was a singular blue band. Multimom held out two hands, and two more Multimoms appeared, identical to the original but for the second blue band around their waists, wrists, and ankles.<br/>    "Ella, Etta," the original Multimom said, "You two stay with these two me's, alright?" The twin girls nodded, tears of fright in their eyes as they hugged the legs of the two Multimom duplicates. The original Multimom ran off towards where the tenshi came from and found Ladybug, Cat Noir, and the Butterfly.<br/>    "I'm here, Butterfly." Multimom said.<br/>    "Great." the purple-clad hero said, "Are the kids safe?"<br/>    "The twins are, yes. I still need to find Alya, though."<br/>    "Go make sure she's safe then." Ladybug said, "We can handle ourselves for a little longer."<br/>    "I was just about to do that, but first..." Multimom held out her hand, and another duplicate of herself appeared.<br/>    "Wow, that's cool." Ladybug said.<br/>    "This me is going to help you with whatever you need, while I go find Alya."<br/>    "Purr-fect!" Cat Noir said. The original Multimom ran off, leaving the heroes with the duplicate and the zombies. The four of them turned back to face the horde.<br/>    "We need to pursue the sentimonster," Ladybug said, "but we can't leave these guys unchecked. Multimom?"<br/>    "Say no more." Multimom said and she held up two hands. Two new Multimoms, this time with three bands, appeared in front of her. All three Multimoms now held up all their hands, each one creating two more. They repeated this three more times until there were eighty-one Multimoms, finally outnumbering the zombies. All but one of them--the one with the two bands--charged the monsters. As the duplicates ganged up on the various monsters, Ladybug, Cat Noir, the Butterfly, and Multimom ran off after the monster.</p>
<p>    Chloe hid behind a rack of designer jackets, peering out at the now-abandoned Gabriel store.<br/>    <i>Looks like they're finally gone.</i> Chloe thought as she stepped out from the rack. She ran over to the changing room and rapped on the door.<br/>    "Sabrina, are you still in there?" she asked. No response. She tried the knob: locked.<br/>    "Sabrina, are you alright? There's something freaky going down out here, and--" a dull but sudden impact on the door convinced Chloe to stop talking.<br/>    <i>Something's wrong with Sabrina.</i> Chloe realized, <i>I need to do something. I hope Ladybug's nearby.</i> Chloe turned and ran for the doorway.</p>
<p>    Alya watched in awe from the balcony as the Toxicouer hovered into her field of vision. She trained her phone camera on the monster, tweaking the focus just right when it suddenly stopped moving. Arteries shot out in every direction--including Alya's. Before it struck her, however, she was tackled to the floor by Multimom.<br/>    "Are you alright, Alya?" she said as she helped her daughter up.<br/>    "M-Mom?" Alya said, "Where are the twins? Are they with Dad?"<br/>    "I've got eyes on them, don't worry." Multimom said.<br/>    "What do you mean?" Before Multimom could respond, she spotted three zombies behind Alya.<br/>    "Watch out!" she yelled as she pushed Alya behind her. She held out two hands, and two more Multimoms appeared. The three identical heroes rushed out and each tussled with a zombie, eventually hurling them all over the railing.<br/>    "I can explain later." the original Multimom said, "For now, though, we need to get you someplace safe." Multimom extended her hand, and Alya took hold. They ran off together, while the two duplicates jumped down to the lower level to confront the horde of zombies down below. Ladybug, Cat Noir, the Butterfly, and their Multimom entered to the sight of a growing number of Multimoms fighting the also-growing horde.<br/>    "Doing good, Multimom." the Butterfly called out, "Keep those creeps busy so we can take care of the big guy." The Toxicouer drifted away from the heroes, but the Multimoms forced the crowd to part for them to get through. Cat Noir swung his staff at the monster, which responded by firing out a tendril to grab it, but Cat twirled the staff in his hand, tying the artery into a knot as he took hold of the other end again. The monster, however, simply tossed Cat Noir to the side before untangling its arm. Ladybug threw her yo-yo at the monster, wrapping it around its massive black form, and pulled hard on the string.<br/>    "I've got it!" Ladybug said, "Now we just need to find a way to take it down-" before she could finish, Ladybug was grabbed by one of the monster's veins and tossed aside, her yo-yo string coming unraveled. The Butterfly spun his net in his hands when he was interrupted by a beep. He looked down at his chest and saw that three of the wing segments on his brooch were black.<br/>    "I'm about to transform back!" he called out, "I hope you have another trick up your sleeve." Ladybug stood up and tossed her yo-yo into the air.<br/>    "Lucky Charm!" she shouted as a swarm of ladybugs gathered around her yo-yo. In a flash of pink light, a red and black-spotted abacus dropped into Ladybug's hands.<br/>    "An abacus?" Ladybug said.<br/>    "If it expects us to count those things, I swear..." Cat Noir groaned. Ladybug looked around but saw no use for the abacus. The fourth wing piece began to blink.<br/>    "Sorry, guys, I have to go recharge." the Butterfly said, "I'll be right back." The Butterfly ran out of Ladybug's sight. Ladybug looked back down at the abacus, and suddenly made a connection in her head.<br/>    "I have an idea." Ladybug said, "Kitty, can you handle yourself with all these Multimoms?" Cat Noir flashed her a grin.<br/>    "You're trusting me alone with all these ladies?" he said.<br/>    "Strictly business, kitty." Ladybug chuckled, "Besides, they're married."<br/>    "I'm just kidding. Don't sweat it, Bugaboo. I can handle it."<br/>    "Great, I'll be right back." Ladybug jumped up and threw her yo-yo out the window, swinging into the city outside.<br/>    "Ladybug, wait!" a voice cried. Ladybug didn't hear, but Cat Noir turned to see Chloe running away from the horde.</p>
<p>    Master Fu sat at his table, a bowl of noodle soup in front of him and an abacus sitting at the other end. As he picked up his chopsticks, he heard the door open behind him.<br/>    "Master Fu!" Marinette said, "My Lucky Charm told me to come here again."<br/>    "What is it?" Master Fu said.<br/>    "There's a sentimonster rampaging in a shopping center, turning people into zombies."<br/>    "Oh my, that must be difficult for just the three of you to fight."<br/>    "We have a tenshi on our side that's helping with the zombies, but the monster itself is just too strong."<br/>    "I see." Master Fu stood up and walked over to the desk. He pressed the eyes of the dragon engraving on his phonograph machine, causing a panel between them to open up and reveal ten buttons. He pressed three of the buttons, and the top of the phonograph opened up, revealing the Miracle Box inside. Master Fu picked up the box and set it out on the floor in front of Marinette, who kneeled in front of it.<br/>    "Marinette Dupain-Cheng," he said as he opened the box up, "pick an ally you can trust on this mission. Choose wisely; such powers are meant to serve the greater good. Once the mission is over, you will retrieve the Miraculous from them and return it to me." Marinette's hand hovered over the box.<br/>    "Illusions and shields won't help me this time." Marinette said, "I need a more direct offensive... I got it." Marinette grabbed the Bee Miraculous from the top of the box.<br/>    "Do you have an ally in mind, Marinette?"<br/>    "I don't know, Master. For all I know, everyone in that mall could already be corrupted. I think I'm going to have to handle this one on my own."<br/>    "Marinette, you can't do that!" Master Fu said, "Merging Miraculous would use too much power." Tikki flew out of Marinette's purse.<br/>    "Master Fu is right," the red kwami said, "it could be dangerous."<br/>    "It's my only option." Marinette said, "Besides, Serpent Noir could handle it." Marinette put the comb into her hair. A yellow and black-striped kwami with white fuzz around its neck flew out of the Miraculous, causing the comb to turn flat silver.<br/>    "How may I serve you, my queen?" it said.<br/>    "What's your name?" Marinette asked.<br/>    "I am Pollen, the kwami of Subjection."<br/>    "Well, hello, Pollen. What do I say to transform?"<br/>    "'Buzz on'."<br/>    "I'll remember that." Marinette said, "Tikki, spots on!" Tikki was sucked back into Marinette's earring, and she turned back into Ladybug.<br/>    "Marinette, please listen to your kwami." Master Fu said, but Ladybug ignored him.<br/>    "Pollen, buzz on!" she said, and Pollen flew into the silver comb, turning it back into its original yellow with five black stripes. Around Ladybug's waist appeared a series of alternating yellow and black stripes, forming a corset-like shape. Similar banding appeared around her forearms and lower legs. Her gloves turned black with yellow fingers, and her boots turned black with yellow toes and high heels. A gold streak appeared in Ladybug's black hair, and a yellow and black trompo appeared around her waist, hanging on the opposite hip from her yo-yo. Her transformation complete, she opened the balcony doors and threw the trompo into the city skyline. She tugged at the string and zipped away.</p>
<p>    The Butterfly ducked into a utility closet, locking the door behind him.<br/>    "Nooroo, wings fall." he said, and his costume gave way to his orange t-shirt and purple jeans as Nooroo flew out of his brooch.<br/>    "Wow," Nooroo said, "I think that's the longest I've stayed transformed after creating a tenshi." Nathaniel fished a baggy of freeze-dried miracle berries out of his pocket and handed it to Nooroo.<br/>    "Well we've still got a ways to go, so go recharge."<br/>    "Right, thank you." Nooroo flew over to a shelf and set the bag down. As the kwami flew in through the plastic baggy, Nathaniel took out his phone and saw two missed calls from Alix.<br/>    "Shoot!" Nathaniel whispered, "I'm gonna have some explaining to do. No problem, I'll just tell her that I got tied up in the whole sentimonster deal." His finger hovered over the call button, but he hesitated.<br/>    "That wouldn't explain why I didn't answer her calls, though." Nathaniel paused for a moment, then pressed the home button on his phone and put it in his pocket, "I guess I'll just have to ghost her until this is over, then tell her I was turned into a zombie."<br/>    "Are you sure you want to do that?" Nooroo said between bites.<br/>    "Not really, but I don't have much of a choice. I have to keep my identity a secret, right?" Nooroo paused, then nodded.<br/>    "Are you ready now, Nooroo?"<br/>    "One second." Nooroo wolfed down the rest of the berry, "Okay."<br/>    "Great." Nathaniel said as he took the bag back, "Nooroo, wings rise!" Nooroo flew back into Nathaniel's brooch, and with a flash of purple light, Nathaniel transformed back into the Butterfly. He kicked the door open and ran back out into the fray. Every zombie was engaged with at least three Multimoms, and Cat Noir was standing up on a balcony swatting away arteries. The Butterfly ran towards the balcony and jumped up. Using his enhanced leg strength, he was able to make the normally impossible jump to Cat Noir's position.<br/>    "All charged up?" Cat Noir asked.<br/>    "Never felt better." the Butterfly said as he drew his net, "Where's Ladybug?"<br/>    "She left." Cat Noir batted away another tendril.<br/>    "Looking for another new friend?" the Butterfly tightened his net sock and used it to block two incoming arteries.<br/>    "Probably, she hasn't let us down so far." Cat Noir looked up at the Toxicouer and saw a clear view of its top side.<br/>    "I have an idea." Cat Noir said as he climbed up onto the railing into a squatting position. He tensed his leg muscles and pounced towards the sentimonster. The Toxicouer, however, spun itself around, swinging a tendril up towards Cat Noir. The leather-clad hero was knocked towards the wall, but just before he struck, he heard a buzzing noise and felt an arm around his waist. He turned his head to see Ladybug clutching onto him as they zipped towards the balcony. They landed safely on the platform, and Ladybug let go of Cat Noir, giving him a good look at her new costume.<br/>    "Ladybug?" he asked, "I'm digging the new outfit."<br/>    "Thanks." she said, "I grabbed the Bee Miraculous and decided to double up. So now I guess you can call me Ladybee."<br/>    "Ladybee, I like it." Cat Noir said. Ladybee spun her yo-yo in one hand and her trompo in the other. She jumped over the railing, and the Toxicouer flipped over and shot more tendrils out at her, but she tossed her yo-yo around them, tying them up. She swung around to the now bottom side of the monster and held her top in her hand.<br/>    "Venom!" she shouted, and a ball of energy swelled out from the top, taking the shape of a bee stinger. She thrust the top into the Toxicouer. Instantly, the heart stopped beating, and the tendrils it had extended went limp. Ladybee smiled at the results, but suddenly groaned as her eyes rolled back and she fell to the floor. She managed to catch herself in a roll, landing on her hands and knees amongst a crowd of zombies and Multimoms. She tried to stand back up, but her head began to spin as she collapsed back onto one knee.<br/>    "Ladybee!" Cat Noir cried as he jumped down, pushing aside friend and foe alike as he made his way to her side.<br/>    "Are you alright?" he asked.<br/>    "I... I think..." she touched her hand to her face, her middle finger resting under her nose, "I'm fine, kitty."<br/>    "You didn't look fine back there."<br/>    "Really, Cat Noir," she said as she pulled her hand away from her face, "I'm--" Ladybee stopped when she saw her hand. The yellow finger of her glove now had a blotch of red on it. She took a quick whiff and smelled blood right under her nose.<br/>    "M'lady, you're bleeding!"<br/>    "I know, kitty. But I have to go find the amok." Ladybee forced herself to stand back up and began to move away. The zombies, however, pushed aside the Multimoms that had ganged up on them and all charged at Ladybee. She drew her trompo and swung it at one of the zombies, but it flew right over the monster's head as she lost her balance again. She felt the blood dripping from her nose, and could almost taste as it ran down her lip. Cat Noir raced over to her and noticed the bee-shaped comb in her hair only had four black stripes.<br/>    "The Miraculous!" Cat Noir said, "There must be something wrong with using two at once."<br/>    "But... Sidewinder..."<br/>    "Serpent Noir didn't use either of his Miraculous powers. Probably helped that he was high on adrenaline, too." Cat Noir took the comb out of Ladybee's hair, and the yellow and black stripes on her costume disappeared along with the gold streak in her hair. Cat Noir put the comb into his pocket and helped Ladybug back to her feet.<br/>    "I... I had no idea it was that dangerous." Ladybug said, wiping the last of the blood from her face, "I guess they did try to warn me." Ladybug and Cat Noir looked back up at the Toxicouer. It was still floating in the air, not beating, but it's tendrils were starting to spasm.<br/>    "We need a new strategy." Cat Noir said.<br/>    "I know there's a reason the Lucky Charm told me to fetch that Miraculous." Ladybug said, "But I don't know who to give it to." As if on cue, a scream came from a nearby corridor.<br/>    "Someone's in trouble." Ladybug said, "Multimom, give us a path." The crowd of Multimoms nodded in unison and forced the horde of zombies to break, creating a path for Ladybug and Cat Noir to get to the corridor. The Butterfly jumped off of the balcony and deployed his wings, gliding in the direction of the sound. The three arrived to find Chloe being attacked by four zombies. Cat Noir swatted two of them away, then thrust his staff into one of their guts, knocking it to the floor. Cat Noir then smacked the other one on the head, causing it to collapse. Ladybug grabbed one of the other two by the arm and yanked it to the floor, then threw it into the wall. The Butterfly knocked the last one standing to the floor with his net, then stomped on its chest for good measure. Cat Noir ran up to Chloe and pulled her back to her feet.<br/>    "Thanks, Cat Noir." Chloe said.<br/>    "No problem," Cat Noir said, "But now we need to get back to fighting that sentimonster."<br/>    "Wait!"<br/>    "Chloe, I'm sure your problem is really important," Ladybug said, "but right now there are bigger issues to deal with."<br/>    "Ladybug, I think I know where the amok is."<br/>    "What?"<br/>    "My friend, Sabrina... we were shopping together at the Gabriel store, and... I must've done something to upset her." Ladybug opened her mouth to respond when suddenly a cloud of green smoke appeared around one of the zombies. The heroes looked down to see the zombie transform into an ordinary man with medium skin and jet black hair, in a white shirt and blue jeans. Another cloud of smoke and another zombie turned into a pale-skinned woman with red hair and a green shirt.<br/>    "That's odd." Cat Noir said. The sound of the Toxicouer's arteries shooting out echoed through the corridor. Ladybug ran back to the scene of the fight and saw the Toxicouer attacking the zombies with its tendrils, just as it did to the people to turn them into zombies before.<br/>    "What's it doing?" Cat Noir asked.<br/>    "It's reinjecting them." the Butterfly observed.<br/>    "Whatever it uses to turn people into zombies must wear off after some time." Ladybug said, "I wonder if we could use that to our advantage..." Ladybug looked around, and took notice of the Multimoms, the now-normal people in the hall, the tendrils, and Chloe.<br/>    "I have an idea." Ladybug said, "Cat, give me the Miraculous."<br/>    "Ladybug, we established that's too dangerous."<br/>    "It's not for me." Ladybug turned to Chloe.<br/>    "Wait," Chloe said, "you mean..."<br/>    "Honey Bee was a big help to us back when we fought Slithermilk." Ladybug reminded, "And I have a plan that requires her help."<br/>    "Well, if you insist." Cat Noir fished the yellow comb out of his pocket and handed it to Ladybug. Ladybug, in turn, presented the comb to Chloe.<br/>    "Chloe Bourgeois, here is the Miraculous of the Bee, which grants the power of subjection. You will use it for the greater good." Chloe tentatively grabbed the Miraculous.<br/>    "Are you sure about this?" Chloe said. Ladybug nodded.<br/>    "Once the mission is over, you must return the Miraculous to me. Can I trust you?"<br/>    "I'm not so sure of that myself, but..." Chloe looked down at the Miraculous, "if Sabrina is in danger... then I swear I'll do everything in my power to help her." Chloe put the comb into her hair, and Pollen flew out.<br/>    "How may I serve you, my queen?" the bee kwami said.<br/>    "Whoa," Chloe said, "what on Earth is that?!"<br/>    "I am your kwami, my name is Pollen."<br/>    "A kwami? What does that mean?"<br/>    "It means that I can grant you powers, just as soon as you say the magic words."<br/>    "Magic words?"<br/>    "Just say 'Pollen, buzz on!'"<br/>    "Gotcha." Chloe swept her hand out in front of her and said, "Pollen, buzz on!" Chloe raised her hand into the air as Pollen flew into the comb, turning it yellow with five black stripes. A black streak appeared in Chloe's hair and she tapped her toe onto the ground. A yellow costume with black on the legs and midriff appeared around Chloe's body. She slid two fingers across her face, and a yellow and black mask appeared over her face. She drew the same two fingers up her left arm, and a black patch appeared as she went, then appeared down her other arm. She spun herself in a circle, did a flip, and landed in a diva stance.<br/>    "Okay, Honey Bee," Ladybug said, "ready to save your friend?"<br/>    "Oh, I'm not Honey Bee anymore." Chloe said, "I've got an actual Miraculous now. I'm more than just a worker bee. I'm the Queen Bee!"<br/>    "Queen Bee?" Ladybug said quizzically.<br/>    "It has a nice ring to it." Cat Noir ceded.<br/>    "Alright then, Queen Bee. Here's the plan."</p>
<p>    The Multimoms all fought against the zombies. Some gained an upper hand and forced their opponent down, others were overwhelmed and knocked down by the collective effort of multiple zombies. As the tide began to shift in the zombies' favor, purple light masks appeared over all the Multimoms' faces.<br/>    "Okay, it looks like things aren't going so well for you right now," the Butterfly said, "but Ladybug has a plan. See how the monster keeps reinjecting the zombies? That's your new focus: forget trying to overpower them, just don't let it reinject them."<br/>    "Right." the Multimoms all said in unison. A zombie lunged at one of the Multimoms, but she rolled off to one side, then jumped over its head. Another zombie tried to grab one of the other Multimoms, but she slid under its legs and popped up behind it. The Multimoms continued to avoid the attacks from the zombies until they heard the now-familiar whizz of the artery-tendrils. Three of them shot out towards three zombies, but three Multimoms intercepted them and slapped them away. Five more lashed out, but the Multimoms jumped into the air and swatted them to the side. As the Multimoms continued to keep the tentacles at bay, Ladybug, Cat Noir, the Butterfly, and Queen Bee all entered the fray themselves.<br/>    "Each of you, take a zombie." Ladybug said, and they all nodded in agreement. Ladybug joined a Multimom with three stripes, Cat Noir joined with two five-striped Multimoms, the Butterfly came to the assistance of the two-striped Multimom, and Queen Bee wrapped her trompo string around a previously unattended zombie. As the fighting continued, some of the zombies began to turn back into their original form but remained trapped in the crowd. The Toxicouer started beating faster and faster as it grew more and more irritated. Eventually, it sprouted more tendrils than ever before and shot them all out at once towards the zombies.<br/>    "Fall back, Multimoms!" the Butterfly said, and the Multimoms stopped fighting. Every tendril connected with a zombie, injecting every last one with the toxin.<br/>    "Over to you, Queen Bee!" Ladybug said.<br/>    "On it!" Queen Bee said as she took the yellow top in her hand, "Venom!" A ball of energy swelled out from the top, taking the shape of a bee stinger. She jabbed the top into the zombie's neck. A yellow glow traveled through the zombie's body, all the way up the artery into the Toxicouer, and down the rest of the arteries into the other zombies. Instantly, every zombie collapsed, and the Toxicouer stopped beating. At last, the entire shopping center was calm.<br/>    "Nicely done, Chl-" Ladybug stopped herself, "Queen Bee. Now, shall we go find Sabrina?"<br/>    "Do you have to ask?" Queen Bee said, and the four heroes bolted down a hallway towards a storefront with a giant black G hanging over the door.</p>
<p>    Ladybug tried to open the doorknob on the women's changing room: still locked.<br/>    "We're going to need to find another way in." Ladybug said.<br/>    "I might have an idea," Cat Noir said, displaying his ring, "but things might get weird."<br/>    "It's probably our best bet." Queen Bee said.<br/>    "Okay." Ladybug said, "Just keep your eyes shut, boys, until I say it's safe." Cat Noir placed his right hand on the door, and he and the Butterfly both shut their eyes.<br/>    "Cataclysm." Cat Noir said, and a cloud of black energy gathered around his ring. The wooden door crumbled, and Ladybug and Queen Bee saw Sabrina sitting on the bench inside the changing room, still fully clothed in her white blouse and purple sweater-vest.<br/>    "You're good." Ladybug said, and the two male heroes opened their eyes.<br/>    "Sabrina, are you alright?" Queen Bee asked.<br/>    "It's... complicated."<br/>    "Is it about Chloe?" Ladybug said. Sabrina nodded.<br/>    "Look," Ladybug continued, "I don't know what she said or did, but--"<br/>    "She didn't say or do anything... today." Sabrina said.<br/>    "Then... what is it?"<br/>    "I told you, it's complicated. And personal. I don't want to talk about it."<br/>    "Why?" Ladybug said. Sabrina didn't respond, she just looked down at the corrupted beret.<br/>    "I think you should leave her alone, Bugaboo." Cat Noir said, "If she doesn't want to talk about it, you should respect that."<br/>    "Right. I'm sorry, Sabrina."<br/>    "But, Sabrina," Cat Noir said, "I do think you should talk to Chloe about what's going on, whatever it is."<br/>    "I... I don't think she'll understand."<br/>    "You should still try." Queen Bee said, "I m... er, I think she might surprise you." Queen Bee's Miraculous beeped, and the fourth stripe blinked out.<br/>    "And if she doesn't?"<br/>    "It's a risk you have to take." the Butterfly said, "Your problems aren't just going to solve themselves."<br/>    "It's not going to be easy." Queen Bee said, "Take it from me, doing the right thing is never easy." Sabrina sighed.<br/>    "You're right." she said. Ladybug picked up the beret and tore it in half. The blue feather drifted out onto a breeze.<br/>    "No more evil-doing for you, little amok." Ladybug said as she opened up her yo-yo, revealing a pool of pink energy. She stood on one foot and spun the yo-yo behind her, "Time to de-evilize!" Ladybug threw her yo-yo at the amok, trapping it inside the pink pool. She pulled the yo-yo back towards her, "Gotcha!" Ladybug opened the yo-yo back up, and a pure white feather drifted out.<br/>    "Bye-bye, little feather." Ladybug said as she pulled out her abacus, then tossed it into the air, "Miraculous Ladybug!" The abacus exploded into a swarm of ladybugs that flew around the shopping center. Every table the zombies knocked over was righted, every window repaired, and every immobilized zombie was revived and turned back into a normal human. The Toxicouer disappeared, and the beret was restored to its intact, striped state. Ladybug, Cat Noir, the Butterfly, and Queen Bee all bumped fists.<br/>    "Pound it!" they said in unison. Ladybug turned to Sabrina.<br/>    "You good if we leave now?"<br/>    "Y-yeah." Sabrina said.<br/>    "Goodbye, then. And remember, talk to Chloe." The four heroes ran out of the store and found a secluded corner in the hallway.<br/>    "Okay, Queen Bee," Ladybug started.<br/>    "It's time to return the Miraculous, isn't it?" Queen Bee said, reaching for the comb.<br/>    "Yeah. But you did good back there."<br/>    "Thanks, I've been working really hard, trying to learn from you." Chloe sighed, "I even tried being nicer to Sabrina. I don't know what I could've done wrong..."<br/>    "Chloe, just because you get better doesn't undo what you did before. If the way you've treated Sabrina in the past has affected her somehow, then treating her differently now won't change that."<br/>    "Well then... what can I do?"<br/>    "I'm afraid not much." the Butterfly said, "You can't force people to like you, Chloe. They need to make that decision themselves, and you have to accept that, even if you don't like the option they choose." Queen Bee shut her eyes as the third stripe blinked out.<br/>    "You said it yourself, Chloe." Cat Noir said, "Doing the right thing is never easy." Queen Bee swallowed.<br/>    "You're right." she said, and she took the comb out of her hair. The yellow and black costume gave way to Chloe's standard black and white striped shirt and yellow jacket. She handed the comb to Ladybug, who opened her yo-yo and placed the comb inside.<br/>    "Thanks." Ladybug said, "And if we ever need your help again, we'll let you know. Now, go find your friend."<br/>    "Right." Chloe ran back to the Gabriel store.</p>
<p>    The original Multimom stood outside of the shopping center with Otis, Alya, the twins (each in the arms of another Multimom), and an older, more muscular girl dressed in yellow athletic wear. A purple light mask appeared around the original Multimom's eyes.<br/>    "Thank you, Multimom." the Butterfly said, "You were a big help out there, but now that the battle's over, it's time for me to take your powers back."<br/>    "I understand, Butterfly." Multimom said, "I'm willing to help you again if you ever need me."<br/>    "Great. Now I recall your powers." The two duplicates set the twins down and disappeared as Multimom flashed purple, turning back into Marlena Cesaire.<br/>    "Okay, kids." Marlena said, "I say it's time we headed back home."<br/>    "Aww, already?" the twins whined.<br/>    "Mama's right, flyweights." Nora said, kneeling to the twins, "We can always come back some other time, but for now we should get home." The twins burst out crying as they hugged Nora's toned legs.</p>
<p>    The Butterfly ducked back into the boy's bathroom and made his way back to the stall where he first transformed. He found his jacket still hanging on the hook as he locked the door behind him.<br/>    "Nooroo, wings fall." he said, and with a flash of purple light he turned back into Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Nooroo hovering over his shoulder.<br/>    "Another job well done." Nooroo said as Nathaniel grabbed his jacket.<br/>    "Yep." Nathaniel said as he put his jacket on, "Now I should probably call Alix back." He opened the stall door back up and stepped outside. He fished his phone out of his pocket and tapped the "Missed call" notification. He held the phone to his ear and heard the ringback tone, which quickly stopped.<br/>    "Nath!" Alix said, "I've called you like four times already. Is everything alright?"<br/>    "Yeah, everything's fine now." Nathaniel said, "Sorry, there was a sentimonster attack, and... I got turned into a zombie. But I'm alright now, Ladybug and Cat Noir fixed everything."<br/>    "Oh, thank heaven!"<br/>    "Yeah. I'm really sorry about ghosting you there."<br/>    "Hey, it's not your fault."<br/>    "So... are we still on for lunch?"<br/>    "I mean, it is a little later than I usually eat... but I still haven't eaten, so might as well."<br/>    "Great. I'll gather my things back up and meet you there." Nathaniel ended the call.</p>
<p>    Chloe ran towards the changing room door, now intact again thanks to the magic ladybugs, and raised her fist to rap. However, she steadied her hand, and lightly tapped on the door four times.<br/>    "Sabrina, are you still in there?" she said, and Sabrina tentatively opened the door.<br/>    "Chloe?" Sabrina said, "Did it- did I hurt you?"<br/>    "I'll be fine." Chloe assured. Sabrina jumped out of the changing room and hugged Chloe tightly.<br/>    "Oh, Chloe! I'm so sorry about all of this!"<br/>    "It's okay, Sabrina. Want to grab a bite at the food court? Maybe... talk some things out?"</p>
<p>    Sabrina and Chloe sat across from each other at a glass table in an upper level.<br/>    "So... you seemed pretty upset earlier." Chloe choked out, "What was that about?" Sabrina took a deep breath.<br/>    "I was just thinking, about us. Everything that's happened between us."<br/>    "Oh. Well, I was actually thinking about that as well, and..." a lump formed in Chloe's throat, "I think it'd be best for you if we stopped hanging out."<br/>    "No, Chloe!"<br/>    "I'm sorry, that may have come out wrong. What I mean is... I haven't been a good friend to you. You deserve to be treated better than I've treated you."<br/>    "Chloe, I don't think you understand. I can't leave you! I..." Sabrina swallowed a lump in her own throat, "I love you, Chloe." Chloe's eyes widened.<br/>    "What... what do you mean by that?"<br/>    "I mean that I love you. Chloe, ever since we finished primary school, I've thought you were the most amazing girl I'd ever met."<br/>    "You... you love me <i>that way</i>?"<br/>    Sabrina nodded.<br/>    "I... I had no idea. I didn't even know that you... that you liked other girls."<br/>    "You... you must think I'm weird now, don't you?"<br/>    "No! Why would you think--" Chloe stopped, "I know exactly why. Sabrina, I don't think you're weird because you like other girls."<br/>    "You don't?"<br/>    "No. But the way I've acted these past years... I can see how you got the idea that I would. I'm sorry."<br/>    "It's okay. So..."<br/>    "If you're wondering if I... if I love you, too... the answer is no. Not that way."<br/>    "I didn't think so."<br/>    "I do still care about you, though. You're my best friend, Sabrina. But I've done a terrible job of showing it. I still think it's probably best that we take some time apart. Re-evaluate some things. In the meantime, you can find some other friends, ones that'll treat you better than I have. Then after that... well, I don't know what could come next. I just hope we'll be in a better place than we are now."<br/>    "I... I understand." Sabrina said, "It isn't going to be easy."<br/>    "You're right, it won't be. But I think it'll be for the better." Chloe held out her hand. Sabrina took it.<br/>    "I'm going to miss you." Sabrina said.<br/>    "I'm going to miss you, too." Chloe let go of Sabrina's hand. The two girls stood up and walked down the stairs to the exit.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, this was a bit of a new experience for me. For one, it's my first time writing an explicitly gay character, and while I didn't find it super challenging to do, it was a new experience. Hopefully, I did a good job and didn't do anything super offensive. And for two, this is probably the most in-depth I've gone with such a serious subject matter, and that was a bit of a challenge. I put a lot of careful thought into making sure I didn't send the wrong message about toxic relationships, and once again hope I succeeded. Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun writing this, especially continuing Chloe's redemption arc (yes, even after Miracle Queen: yay for AU's), and hope you have just as much fun reading this.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. The Light Ghost</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Believing his show to be cursed, Stuart, co-director of The Man-Fly, is amokized. Now it's up to Ladybug, Cat Noir, and the Butterfly to save the show and everyone involved from his ghostly sentimonster, while Lila struggles with the ghosts of her past.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>    Lila sat in a chair in the Theatre Peltier auditorium next to Adrien, staring intently at her phone while the tech crew dragged a large wooden box, painted silver and adorned with a grid of LED lights, onto the stage.</span>
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  <span>    “Hey, Lila.” Marinette said, startling the brunette. Lila turned to see Marinette standing next to her, holding her sketchbook open slightly with her finger.</span>
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  <span>    “Oh, hi, Marinette.” Lila said, forcing a smile.</span>
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  <span>    “Is... everything alright?” Marinette asked.</span>
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  <span>    Lila rolled her shoulders back and brushed a bit of hair out of her face, “Yeah, everything’s fine.”</span>
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  <span>    “Are you sure? You can tell me if anything’s wrong.”</span>
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  <span>    “Really, Marinette, I’m--”</span>
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  <span>    “Lila,” Adrien interrupted, “We’ve... learned your tells.”</span>
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  <span>    “Tells?” Lila asked.</span>
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  <span>    “Just little things we’ve noticed when you get into character. Like, you do something with your shoulders or something.” Adrien explained. Lila relaxed her shoulders.</span>
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  <span>    “Really? I had no idea.”</span>
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  <span>    “Honestly, if we hadn’t been working together on this show for so long, I probably wouldn’t have picked up on them, myself.”</span>
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  <span>    “If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine.” Marinette said, “I just want to make sure you’re doing alright.”</span>
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  <span>    “Thanks, Marinette.” Lila said, “I’ve just been trying to get in touch with Pat, since I don’t feel like I got the chance to properly apologize. I sent him a message last night, but he still hasn’t read it.”</span>
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  <span>    “Huh, that is odd.” Adrien said, “Normally he’s-- never mind. I’m sure he’s just busy or something.” Lila slumped her shoulders and pulled her legs together.</span>
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  <span>    “Yeah, probably.” she said.</span>
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  <span>    “Anyway,” Marinette said, “I wanted to show you something, Lila.” Marinette opened her sketchbook and held it out towards Lila. Drawn on the page was a green mid-length dress with a leafy pattern on the front, the elbow-length sleeves draping loosely over the arms of the template figure. Lila grabbed the book out of Marinette’s hands and began poring over it.</span>
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  <span>    “Do you like it?” Marinette said, “I made this for the show, I thought it’d look good on you.”</span>
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  <span>    “I love it!” Lila said, her face beaming as she took in every detail of the sketch. Marinette glanced at Lila’s shoulders, and saw them sitting in a natural position: no tension pulling them back or forward. Marinette knew Lila’s reaction was genuine.</span>
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  <span>    “Thanks.” Marinette said, “I didn’t want to give it to Mr. Brundle until I got your opinion on it, but with that glowing review, I’m going to bring it to him right away.” Lila handed the sketchbook back to Marinette. She tucked it under her arm.</span>
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  <span>    “Good luck, Marinette.” Adrien said. Marinette giggled before walking up the aisle towards the stage. She climbed up the stairs and went off into the stage right wing. As she approached the backstage door, however, the light suddenly went out. Marinette fumbled around for a light switch, but tripped on a power cord and dropped her sketchbook.</span>
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  <span> Marinette thought as she dusted herself off and stood back up. She took out her phone and turned flashlight mode on. Marinette looked around the wing, and saw the cord she tripped over: it was connected to a lamp. She walked up to it and turned the switch, but the lamp stayed off. </span>
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  <span> Marinette found her sketchbook and the light switch, and after turning on the lights and picking up her book, she stepped through the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    Nathaniel sat at a table near the stage door, painting a circle of clear acrylic with black paint. The stage door opened and Marinette stepped through.</span>
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  <span>    “Hey, Nathan.” Marinette said, “What are you working on?”</span>
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  <span>    “Painting a fly on the teleporter window.” Nathaniel said, “You know, so when the teleportation scene happens, and there’s the big flash of light from the machine, the silhouette of the fly--”</span>
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  <span>    “Is projected onto the cyc, nice. Can I see how you’re doing?”</span>
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  <span>    “Can I see one of your unfinished dresses?”</span>
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  <span>    “No way! Why would I show you something unfinished? It would look terrible...” Marinette stopped as she realized the implications of her words. Nathaniel smirked at her.</span>
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  <span>    “Touche.” Marinette said, “Where’s Mr. Brundle? I have some designs to show him.”</span>
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  <span>    “Over that way, talking with Mr. Brooks.” Nathaniel pointed the back end of his brush to his left, and Marinette looked to see David and Stuart on the other side of the room.</span>
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  <span>    “Thanks.”</span>
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  <span>    “No problem.” Nathaniel dipped his brush in the black paint and went back to work. Marinette walked over to where David and Stuart were sitting.</span>
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  <span>    “Everything’s going to be fine, trust me.” David said.</span>
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  <span>    “David, we’ve only been working on this show for a month and we’ve already had two sentimonster attacks.” Stuart said, “I’m telling you, this production is cursed.”</span>
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  <span>    “It’s not cursed. We just-- Oh, Marinette! I take it you have a new costume design for me?”</span>
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  <span>    “Yep. I got that dress you wanted for Barbara.” Marinette opened her sketchbook up to the green dress design, brushed off some stray dust, and set it on the table in front of the two producers.</span>
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  <span>    “Very nice, Marinette." David said.</span>
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  <span>    “It’s green!” Stuart said.</span>
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  <span>    “Uh, yeah.” Marinette said, “It’s symbolic. Green represents both safety and nature, and since Barbara’s supposed to be Philippe’s guiding light as he deals with the consequences of tampering with nature--”</span>
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  <span>    “Marinette, you can’t have a character dressed in green! It’s bad luck!”</span>
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  <span>    “Calm down, Stuart.” David said, “Everything’s going to be fine. It’s really good, Marinette. I like the symbolism, especially with the pattern on the front.”</span>
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  <span>    “Thanks, Mr. Brundle.” Marinette said.</span>
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  <span>    “You’re welcome.” David stopped, “Uh, Marinette, you’ve got something on your shirt.” Marinette looked down at her red shirt, and saw a spot of gray by the hem.</span>
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  <span>    “Oh, must’ve been from when I fell backstage.” Marinette said as she brushed it away, “The lamp burned out and I couldn’t find a light switch.”</span>
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  <span>    “What? The ghost light burned out and you didn’t think to mention it?!” Stuart interjected.</span>
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  <span>    “Ghost light?” Marinette said.</span>
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  <span>    “David, don’t you tell your employees anything? The ghost light is a special light we leave on backstage at all times so the ghosts can see. If we don’t, they’ll get mad and try to ruin the show.”</span>
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  <span>    “G-g-ghosts?” Marinette asked.</span>
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  <span>    “There are no ghosts, Marinette.” David reassured, “It’s just an old superstition.”</span>
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  <span>    “Just an old superstition?” Stuart said, “Was it ‘just an old superstition’ when you broke your leg after naming the Scottish Play?” David went silent.</span>
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  <span>    “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d prefer not to offend the ghosts.” Stuart pushed himself up from his seat and stormed over to the utility closet, slamming the door behind him.</span>
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  <span>    “What was that all about?” Nathaniel asked.</span>
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  <span>    “You’ll have to forgive Stuart.” David said, “He’s very superstitious, and especially after the sentimonster attacks he’s really concerned about making sure the production goes well.”</span>
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  <span>    Mayura stood cloaked in shadow, staring out into the afternoon skyline through the giant window.</span>
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  <span>    “So much fear, so much anger.” she said, “They may not believe his ghost story, but they’ll be eating their words soon enough.” Mayura plucked a feather from her fan and clasped her hands around it. Blue smoke gathered around her hands, and when she opened them the feather had turned as blue as her dress. Mayura blew the feather out of her palm, and it drifted off into the wind.</span>
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  <span>    “Fly away, my beautiful amok, and show them the true meaning of superstition!”</span>
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  <span>    Stuart slammed the closet door behind him and turned on the lights. He dug around, and found a lightbulb in a box.</span>
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  <span>    “‘Just a superstition’.” Stuart grumbled as he opened the box, “It’s like he wants this show to fail.” As he removed the bulb from the box, a blue feather drifted out from the shadows. The amok landed on the bulb in his hand, and a blue light mask appeared around his eyes.</span>
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  <span>    “Stuart Brooks.” a female voice said, “I am Mayura. Your colleagues don’t appreciate your concern for this show. They don’t understand the danger of offending these spirits. Perhaps it’s time they learned, don’t you agree?”</span>
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  <span>    “I agree.” Stuart said.</span>
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  <span>    “Then let’s sic one of these ghosts on them, and teach them a lesson. Then we’ll retrieve Ladybug and Cat Noir’s Miraculous.” The bulb in Stuart’s hand began to glow a bright white, whiter than an incandescent bulb should be. Stuart raised his free hand up to shield his eyes as a humanoid figure took shape from the light.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    David held the circle of acrylic, now with a fly fully painted on it, up in front of his face. Nathaniel stood next to him, fidgeting with the brush in his hand.</span>
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  <span>    “It’s a bit large for a fly, don’t you think?” David said.</span>
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  <span>    “I couldn’t make it any smaller without losing too much detail.” Nathaniel admitted, “I was thinking that, since the audience won’t be seeing the glass directly, it wouldn’t hurt to make it a little bigger than life-size.”</span>
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  <span>    “I’m just teasing you, Nathaniel. I think it’s great. Besides, the bigger the silhouette, the bigger the shadow.”</span>
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  <span>    “Oh. Thanks, Mr. Brundle. Is there anything else you need?”</span>
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  <span>    “The next thing I’m going to need is some computer screens. Data plots, wireframe scans, things like that. But for now, I think you should take ten.”</span>
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    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Sounds good to me.” David and Nathaniel went through the stage door and down the stairs into the auditorium. While Nathaniel walked up the aisle to the back row, David took a seat in the front row of the house, setting a copy of the script in his lap.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Alright,” David said, “Let’s start with the ‘living matter’ scene. Adrien and Lila, to the stage please?” Adrien and Lila walked up the steps and moved to center stage. David tapped his chin for a moment, then pointed to Adrien’s left.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Adrien, why don’t you start a little further that way, next to the terminal?” David suggested.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Okay.” Adrien said before taking a few steps to his left, putting him right next to the wooden box.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Perfect, perfect!” David said, “Now, from the top of the scene. Action!” Lila adjusted her stance as Adrien bent over the terminal.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Philippe?” Lila said, “Is everything alright?” Adrien lifted his head up and turned to look at Lila.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Oh, Barbara.” he said, “I’m sorry, I’ve just hit a... bit of a hiccup with the teleporter.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “What do you mean? I thought you’d gotten it working.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I thought I had, too. Every time I try transporting inanimate matter, it goes through smoothly, like that block of iron I showed you. The problem is when I try to transport living matter--” Adrien was interrupted by a bright flash: every LED on the terminal was blinking bright white.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Philippe, is it supposed to do that?” Lila shouted.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Cut!” David called, and the lights ceased, “No, it’s not supposed to do that.” David spun around to face the booth in the back.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Hey Charles, what’s the big idea?” he asked, “I didn’t call for tech today.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Um, Mr. Brundle? I’m not back there.” David turned in the direction of the voice and saw a man with curly brown hair poking his head out from behind one of the leg curtains.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Oh. But if you’re not back there... who turned on the machine?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “No idea.” Charles said, “In fact, I could’ve sworn that it wasn’t even plugged in.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Really?” Adrien said, “That’s odd.” Charles shrugged.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Probably just a weird glitch.” Charles bent down and unplugged the terminal, then walked back into the wing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Okay,” David said, returning to his seat, “let’s take it from ‘inanimate matter’.” Lila and Adrien returned to their places.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Action!” David called.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I thought I had, too.” Adrien repeated, “Every time I try transporting inanimate matter, it goes through smoothly, like that block of iron I showed you. The problem is when I try to transport living matter.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “What happens then?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “It goes in just fine,” Adrien continued, not noticing Lila’s eyes flash white, “but it never comes back out still living. I think it’s a problem with the quantum tunnel process. Somewhere along the way, the particles get separated from one another. This isn’t a problem with inanimate objects, since as long as the particles come back together the right way, it isn’t damaged, but you can’t exactly disintegrate live matter and expect it to still be alive just because you reintegrate it.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Oh, that is terrible.” Lila said, “Is there anything I can do to... make you feel better?” Lila approached Adrien, who looked out into the house nervously. David’s eyes darted back and forth between his script and the events on stage: Lila’s words were not in the script.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Maybe, take your mind off things?” Lila continued as she grabbed Adrien’s wrist. She pulled him even closer.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Stop! Cut!” David shouted, and Lila’s eyes flashed white again. She looked around as if she were unsure of her surroundings.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Lila, care to explain that little tangent?” David asked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Tangent? What do you--” Lila caught sight of her hand, and instantly let go of Adrien’s wrist.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Perhaps you need to be reminded. Your line was ‘Is there any way to keep the particles together in the quantum tunnel?’”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Is that... not what I said?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “No, Lila. It wasn’t.” Adrien said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I swear, I have no idea what’s going on.” Lila said, “Last I remember, Adrien was starting his line about living matter.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Of course, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>say</span>
  </em>
  <span> that.” Marinette said, storming down the aisle.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Marinette, do you... think I’m lying again?” Lila said, “After all the work I’ve put into... making myself better... you really think I would throw that all away on a stupid lie?” Marinette climbed up the stairs.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “You seemed pretty okay doing that to Pat.” Marinette said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Don’t bring him into this!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Marinette, this isn’t your problem to deal with.” David said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “She tried to come onto my boyfriend. I think that’s as much my problem as your show.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Uh, guys?” Adrien started, but the arguing continued over him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “You can settle that on your own time, Marinette.” David responded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Marinette, I’m telling you, I didn’t--” Lila started.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Okay, Lila,” Marinette interrupted, “I’ve just about had it with--”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE! WILL YOU TWO BREAK IT UP?!” Nathaniel shouted unexpectedly, shoving the two girls away from each other. Amidst the commotion, no one had even noticed him coming onto the stage.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Nathan?” Marinette said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I don’t know what’s going on here,” he continued, “but something is obviously wrong. First the terminal goes haywire, then... whatever that was happened.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Nathaniel’s right.” Adrien interjected, “Lila wasn’t lying when she said she had no idea what was going on. I could tell.” Marinette opened her mouth to speak, and Adrien saw a twinge of regret in her eyes, but then they flashed white and she began scowling.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Oh, so now the talking tomato is gonna preach to us?” Marinette said, and then gave Nathaniel a shove. Time seemed to slow down as the house floor flew towards his face, giving him the opportunity to catch himself: right hand first, then onto his left forearm, then from his left shoulder to his right hip, then finally coming to rest in a kneeling position.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Marinette, what did you do that for?” David asked. Marinette’s eyes flashed white again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Do what?” she asked before noticing Nathaniel on the floor, “Nathan? How did... oh no. I swear, I didn’t mean to do it. I don’t even know--”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Of course, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>say</span>
  </em>
  <span> that.” Lila mocked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Lila, I’m--”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “No,” Lila said, “you’ve had your chance to speak, and you blew it. How does it feel now, huh?” Tears welled up in Marinette’s eyes and she ran into the wings.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Marinette, wait up!” Adrien said as he ran after her. Nathaniel felt a throbbing sensation begin at the base of his skull, then radiate up all the way to his ears. The redhead cradled his head in his hands, rubbing his temples.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Nathaniel?” David said, “Are you alright?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “My... my head is splitting.” Nathaniel said, “I’m gonna step outside.” Nathaniel walked up the aisle and out the house door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    Marinette curled up in a ball in the backstage room, and Adrien knelt down by her side.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Don’t worry, princess.” Adrien said, “Everything will be alright.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Adrien, I pushed Nathaniel off the stage, </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> I was rude to Lila. How is everything going to be alright?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “It’s not your fault, Marinette.” Adrien glanced to both sides and then whispered, “I think there’s a sentimonster behind this.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “What?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “After the... incident with Lila, I saw her eyes flash white. I guess I thought it was a trick of the light or something, but then before you... pushed Nathaniel, I saw the same thing in your eyes. I think something was possessing the both of you, to make you both look bad.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “But why?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Good question,” Adrien admitted, “probably one for Ladybug and Cat Noir to solve.” Marinette wiped her eyes, and Adrien helped her to her feet.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Tikki, spots on!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Plagg, claws out!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    Tikki flew into Marinette's black earrings, and Plagg was sucked into Adrien's silver ring. Marinette ran her hands out from the bridge of her nose, and a red and black-spotted mask appeared over her eyes. Adrien slid two fingers across his face and a black mask materialized. Marinette snapped her arm out to one side, and a red, spotted mesh sleeve appeared over it, while Adrien ran his fingers through his hair, causing two cat ear-shaped hairpieces to appear. Adrien snapped both arms out to the sides, and a black leather-like mesh costume appeared around his body. A ladybug-shaped yo-yo appeared on Marinette's costumed hip, while a belt appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around his waist, the excess forming a tail. Ladybug and Cat Noir assumed a fighting stance next to each other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    Nathaniel looked from side to side, and upon seeing the coast was clear, tugged his jacket. Nooroo flew out from the inside pocket, and Nathaniel put his hands back to his head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “At least I didn’t have to lie to get out of there.” Nathaniel said, “My head really is splitting.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I can see why.” Nooroo said, “Being that close to that much anger is overloading my senses.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “True. Wait... Mayura should be able to sense that anger, too, right? Then why hasn’t she amokized anyone?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “That is weird.” Nooroo said. Nathaniel cracked the door and looked into the house: he saw no feathers, no monsters, just Lila and David having a discussion he couldn’t hear. He inched the door shut.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Unless...” Nathaniel said, “she already has a sentimonster going.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “What do you mean?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Every weird thing that’s happened today,” Nathaniel explained, “there’s been some kind of white light. The terminal, Lila’s and Marinette’s eyes. I think that there’s some kind of sentimonster causing these mishaps.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Then what are you waiting for? Transform!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Right.” Nathaniel said, shedding his jacket to reveal a purple brooch on his t-shirt, “Nooroo, wings rise!” Nooroo flew into the small jewel, and it sprouted a pair of butterfly wings. Nathaniel ran his hands across his face, causing a silver butterfly mask to appear. He then slid his hands over his hair, causing a purple cowl to form behind the mask, which continued down his neck and onto his chest, where a black butterfly shape appeared. He stretched his arms out to the sides, and purple sleeves formed around them, ending in a black glove with slitted cuffs, resembling yet more butterfly wings. The costume continued down his legs, ending in similarly boots with similarly slitted cuffs. He raised his hand into the air, and a silver butterfly net appeared in his grasp. He twirled his net around, before grabbing it in both hands and assuming a fighting stance as the Butterfly. He approached the door but heard footsteps behind him. Ladybug and Cat Noir ran down the hall, stopping at his side.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Hey there, Butterfly.” Ladybug said, “Glad you could make it.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “How do you always get here so quick?” Cat Noir asked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I was in the neighborhood,” the Butterfly explained, “sensed a whole lot of anger this way, came to investigate. Really, I should be asking how </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> got here so quickly.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Oh, we, uh...” Cat Noir stammered.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “That’s not important now.” Ladybug interrupted.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Right, we need to help those people.” The Butterfly stepped aside and Ladybug kicked open the door. David was sitting in the front row again, and Lila was curled up behind a leg curtain, looking at the door.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Ladybug?” she said, prompting David to stand up and turn around.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “What are you doing here?” David asked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “We heard there may be a sentimonster here.” Ladybug said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “What do you mean? We haven’t seen a sentimonster.” David said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “We don’t know what it is exactly,” Cat Noir elaborated, “but we know something strange is going on here, and we think a sentimonster is behind it.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “You mean like the terminal, and Lila and Marinette’s... outbursts?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Exactly.” the Butterfly said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “We’d like to have a look around if that’s okay.” Ladybug said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “O...okay then.” David said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I’ll take the flies.” the Butterfly said, “I’ve already been up there, back when we fought the Man-Fly, so I’ll have an easier time navigating it. Plus, if something does go wrong, I have the best chance of surviving a fall.” the Butterfly gestured towards the folded-up wings on his back.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Smart.” Cat Noir said, “I’ll take the wings. I have 60ft of darkvision, so I can find my way back there more easily.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Good thinking, kitty.” Ladybug said, “I’ll scope out around here. Plain sight is the best place to hide, after all.” With that, the three heroes split up. The Butterfly and Cat Noir ran into the wings and spotted a caged ladder by the stage door.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Going up?” Cat Noir said, pointing to the catwalk at the top of the ladder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Good luck down here, Cat.” the Butterfly said before climbing up to the catwalk, leaving Cat Noir alone down below. As the Butterfly’s shadow passed downstage, Cat Noir heard a metallic squeak. He turned to see the curtain pulleys glowing white as they turned on their own, closing the rear curtains.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    Ladybug shined her yo-yo light into the house left corridor, and saw nothing but the stairs at the end. She turned around and walked towards the opposite corridor, but stopped when she saw the curtains closing in front of Cat Noir. Lila scrambled off the stage and down into the house, while Ladybug ran down the aisle and jumped up onto the deck. She tugged on the curtain, but it remained completely shut.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Cat Noir, is everything alright back there?” Ladybug asked. Cat Noir did not respond with words, but Ladybug felt a firm smack from behind the curtain, knocking her backwards. She did a backroll and landed on her hands and knees. Cat Noir grunted and groaned as the curtain crumpled and swayed. Ladybug got back onto her feet and looked up into the rafters.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Butterfly, can you get a visual behind the curtain?” Ladybug called.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “On it.” the Butterfly called back before running back upstage. As he reached the curtain, however, a blinding light flashed, causing him to stumble back over the guard rail. The Butterfly tumbled through the air as he fell headfirst towards the stage deck. As he cleared halfway down, however, his vision came back to him. Now able to see again, the Butterfly reoriented himself and deployed his wings, gliding down to a safe landing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Butterfly, help me get past this curtain.” Ladybug said. The Butterfly drew his net and thrust it at the gap between the curtains, but they stayed shut. The grunts continued.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “We need a new strategy.” the Butterfly said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Try circling around. There should be other doors that lead back--”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Ha, gotcha!” Cat Noir said behind the curtain, “Cataclysm!” First silence, then Cat Noir’s left hand pulled the curtain open, causing the Butterfly to stumble back in shock. Cat Noir stepped out from behind the curtains, his right fist clenched.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “You took the sentimonster down all by yourself?” Ladybug said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Why shouldn’t I?” Cat Noir asked as he approached her, “You trust me, right, Bugaboo?” Cat Noir fondled Ladybug’s hair with his left hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Um, of course I do, just...” Ladybug gently pushed Cat Noir’s wrist away from her face, “It’s a bit of a surprise is all.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Well, aren’t I just full of surprises?” Cat Noir wrapped his arms around Ladybug’s shoulders, clutching her tightly. The Butterfly saw Cat Noir open up his right fist: his ring was still pulsing with black energy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Ladybug, he’s possessed!” the Butterfly shouted, and Ladybug wriggled out of his grip just as he swiped his hand against where her neck was. Once at knee level, she grabbed onto his ankle and spun him around, tossing him into the house. Cat Noir’s eyes flashed white a split-second before he hit a seat in the middle row, the stray Cataclysm destroying the seat next to him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Wha... how did that happen?” Cat Noir asked, but no one answered. All eyes, now including his own, were fixed on the ball of light hovering at the peak of Cat Noir’s flight path. As the light pulsated, it began to take on a new shape: a humanoid figure, dressed in full plate armor like a medieval knight. The armor appeared to be damaged in several places, revealing a skeletal form underneath.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “It can’t be...” David gasped as the figure walked through the air down to the stage. Ladybug spun her yo-yo around in a circle and threw it at the figure, but it simply passed through the figure’s armored chest.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “It’s like some kind of... ghost!” Ladybug stammered as she gazed in fear at the armored face. Any eyes it had were concealed by the mask, but somehow she could tell that it was looking straight at her. The Light Ghost flew towards Ladybug, but she tucked and rolled out of its path. The ghost turned and flew towards her again, but she threw her yo-yo into the flies and pulled herself up. The Light Ghost stopped in its tracks and looked up at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Looks like you’re not the only one with a height advantage now, huh?” Ladybug said. The Light Ghost lingered in place for a moment, staring at Ladybug as she stood on a suspended platform, then it flew into the wings.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Looks like I lost him.” Ladybug said, and she started walking towards the ladder. Suddenly, one side of the platform dropped, causing Ladybug to lose her balance and fall. She began to slide down the sloped floor but stopped herself by grabbing the guard rails. Ladybug looked down into the wings and saw a row of levers glowing white. One of the levers moved upwards on its own, and the line by Ladybug’s right hand jerked downwards. Ladybug lost her grip on that guard rail, leaving her with just her left hand holding on. She clutched as tightly as she could, but the weight was too much for her fingers and they began to loosen. Eventually, Ladybug lost her grip completely and plummeted towards the deck. The Butterfly, however, extended his net out under her, and she bounced off it like a fireman’s trampoline.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Thanks, Butterfly.” Ladybug said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “No problem.” the Butterfly said as he stowed the net, “Now can we get on with the climax?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Lucky Charm!” Ladybug said, throwing her yo-yo upwards into the air. A swarm of ladybugs flew out from the spinning red object and, in a flash of pink light, dropped a small rubber ball into Ladybug’s hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “A bouncy ball?” Ladybug said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Does this feel familiar to anyone else?” Cat Noir asked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Vaguely?” the Butterfly said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Still don't know how to use it.” Ladybug said, “You two got any ideas?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I’ve already burned up my Cataclysm, so...” Cat Noir started, “Oh, crud! I forgot about the timer!” Cat Noir looked down at his ring: two minutes left.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “BRB.” Cat Noir said before bolting to the exit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Butterfly, any ideas?” Ladybug repeated.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Not mu-” the Butterfly stopped when he felt a chill in his chest, “Actually, give me one second.” The Butterfly put his fingers to his temples and closed his eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  
  <em>
    <span>It’s all ruined!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Lila’s voice said in the Butterfly’s head, </span>
  <em>
    <span>My last chance to make things right, ruined!</span>
  </em>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  
  <em>
    <span>Perfect!</span>
  </em>
  <span> The Butterfly thought as he held out his hand. Within seconds, a small white butterfly landed in his palm. He clasped his hands around the insect, and a purple glow poured out between his fingers. Once the glow faded, he unclasped his hands.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Fly, tenshi!” he said as the now-purple butterfly fluttered out of his hands and towards Lila. It landed on Lila’s locket, phasing into it and turning it purple. Before the Butterfly could give a speech however, his surroundings seemed to change.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    The Butterfly found himself standing in a fairly normal-looking room. The walls were painted a burnt orange, with off-white wall-to-wall carpeting. In the middle of the room was a zebra print sofa, and a news program was playing on a large TV. He could tell that it wasn’t in French, but somehow had no difficulty understanding it, as if it were being translated in real-time.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “LANDMARK AGREEMENT WITH INDIA REACHED” the headline read, followed by the subheading “VALENTINA ROSSI SPEARHEADS NEGOTIATIONS”. The Butterfly approached the TV, and saw a little girl, no older than ten, sitting on the sofa and cuddling a stuffed fox. She wore a red t-shirt and a black skirt, her hair was chestnut brown and her eyes were olive green. There was an orange balloon tied to her wrist, but it barely floated above her shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  
  <em>
    <span>Is this what Lila looked like as a kid?</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Butterfly thought. The phone rang, and Lila set down the fox and ran to answer the phone.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “</span>
  <span>Pronto.</span>
  <span>” Lila said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Hey, Lila. Things got pretty busy at the embassy tonight.” the voice on the phone said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “You won’t be home for dinner, will you, Momma?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I left some pasta in the fridge for you. I’ll try to be home tomorrow, I promise. </span>
  <span>Ti amo, Lila.</span>
  <span>”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “</span>
  <span>Ti amo anch’io, momma.</span>
  <span>” Lila hung up the handset, and walked through the door to the kitchen. As the Butterfly followed her through, however, he found them not in a kitchen, but in a classroom, a black, yellow, and red flag hanging over the door.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  
  <em>
    <span>That’s the Belgian flag, right?</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Butterfly thought, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I guess we’re in Belgium now.</span>
  </em>
  <span> The Butterfly turned back to Lila, who looked a little older now, more like twelve, and now wore her more familiar gray romper and red jacket. The balloon, however, remained tied to her wrist. Lila took a seat in the back of the room, and the teacher entered. She began to speak, but this time the translation was a bit slower.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Now, class,” the teacher said, “we have a new student today. Lila Rossi, from Rome, Italy. You might recognize the name.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Rossi?” one of the Belgian kids asked, “As in Valentina Rossi, the diplomat?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Yeah, she’s my mother.” Lila said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “That’s awesome, do you travel a lot?” another kid asked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Sometimes, yeah.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Wow, I bet you meet a lot of people.” yet another kid asked, “That must be so cool.” Lila opened her mouth to speak but paused when she noticed the balloon floating a little higher.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Um, yeah, actually, I do.” Lila said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Have you ever been to the Netherlands?” the girl in front of Lila asked, “Have you met Augustus van Houten?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “The author?” Lila said, “Uh, yeah, I’ve met him.” Lila looked up at the balloon, but it was still at the height it was before. She smiled, however, and pulled the balloon down to her lips, blowing onto the spout at the bottom.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    ”In fact,” Lila continued, “I even got a personal autograph in one of his books.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Really?! That’s so cool!” The school bell rang, and the scene changed again. This time, however, the Butterfly knew where they were. They were in the courtyard of College Francois Dupont, and Lila was giving an interview to Alya. Except she was giving the interview from the air, suspended six feet above the ground by the now comically large balloon on her wrist. Despite its enormous size, Lila continued to blow on the spout, filling it up even more.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Ladybug and me,” Lila said, “we’re like this.” Lila crossed her fingers, supposedly to show her close bond with Ladybug. With those words, the balloon flew high into the sky, the thinner air causing the balloon to expand even larger, until the rubber finally gave way, popping with an incredibly loud </span>
  <em>
    <span>BANG!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Lila fell to the pavement, surrounded by angry classmates.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Where are those backstage passes you promised us?” Ivan demanded, holding a crying Mylene.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I wrote about you to Prince Ali, he told me he didn’t know a Lila.” Rose said, “He didn’t even recognize your photo!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “So all those things you said about Ladybug were lies, too?” Alya accused. Lila clutched her head in her hands as all her classmates yelled at her. All except Adrien, who spoke softly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I’m very disappointed in you, Lila.” he said. In spite of his soft tone, however, Lila ran away at his words, running as fast as she could until she bumped into Pat. Lila fell down at Pat’s feet, crying her eyes out as he bent down to meet her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Hey, I’m Pat.” he said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I’m Lila,” she choked out, “the girl who always lies.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “That can’t be right. A girl who always lies wouldn’t say she always lies. Then she wouldn’t be lying, and wouldn’t be the girl who always lies.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “What does that mean?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “It means I know you can be better, and am willing to give you a shot.” Pat held out his hand, and Lila took it. He helped her to her feet and took the balloon in his hand. He applied a small piece of clear tape to the hole, and the balloon inflated back to normal size. Once Pat turned to walk away, Lila put the balloon spout into her mouth again and blew on it, filling the balloon back up even further, lifting her back up into the air. Pat, however, seemed to hear this and turned to look up at her. Only now, he wasn’t Pat: he was Rewriter.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “What are you doing?” Rewriter yelled, “I gave you the chance to do things correctly for once, and as soon as I’m not looking you do the same thing all over again?!” Rewriter threw his pen-dagger at the balloon, and Lila fell into the asphalt. She reached out to Rewriter, her face wet with tears, but Rewriter simply turned into a puddle of ink and disappeared. She wiped her face with her sleeves and stood back up, now on the Theatre Peltier stage again. The house was full of people, and the spotlight was on her. Lila tossed her deflated balloon into the audience, and it started to fill back up, when suddenly Marinette grabbed it out of the air and stomped on it, pushing out what little air it had in it. Lila collapsed into inky tears on the stage, and Marinette looked down on the balloon in horror. She ran up to the stage and tried to hand it back to Lila when suddenly the deck between them caught fire. Lila crawled back in fear as the flames took on the shape of an armored figure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    The Butterfly felt a head rush as his vision ended. He looked around and saw that he was back on the normal stage. Everyone was where they were when his vision began as if only a second had gone by. He was speechless for a few seconds until he heard a voice in his head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Um, Butterfly?” Lila said, “Aren’t you gonna say something?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Oh, yeah.” the Butterfly said, and then cleared his throat, “Lightrapper, your chance isn’t ruined yet. I’m giving you the power to trap any form of light, including our photonic poltergeist here. What do you say?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Sounds like a win-win!” Lila stood up and was surrounded by purple light. When the light faded, Lila stood in a sky blue jumpsuit, with a vacuum cleaner-like device strapped to her back. Her hair, now streaked with violet, was tied back in a tight bun, and she wore a pair of butterfly-shaped goggles with yellow lenses. Lightrapper took the wand of her backpack in her hands and pointed it at the Light Ghost. She pressed the trigger, opening a black vortex on the end. The Light Ghost, however, moved out of the way too quickly, and the light was sucked out of a ceiling lamp.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Nimble little bugger, aren’t ya?” Lightrapper said as she jumped up to the stage, pointing the wand at the Light Ghost and pulling the trigger again. Once again, the Light Ghost dodged, and one of the ceiling lights went dark.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “You know, you’d think that armor would just be cumbersome.” Ladybug said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Guess it doesn’t matter when you’re weightless and intangible.” the Butterfly said. Lightrapper continued leaping and running around, trying to catch the Light Ghost but only getting ordinary lights. By this point, the house was noticeably darker. The Light Ghost flew over Lightrapper’s head, and she ran upstage to try and intercept it. When she reached the cyclorama, however, it had disappeared.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Where’d it go?” she wondered aloud when suddenly a sandbag fell from the flies. Lightrapper rolled out of the way, and the bag broke through the deck.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Ah, getting antsy, I see.” Lightrapper pointed her wand into the rafters and pulled the trigger. However, instead of hitting the Light Ghost, she hit one of the fluorescent lamps up above, causing it to go dark. As she grumbled in frustration, Lightrapper was suddenly smacked with a glowing leg curtain, pushing her downstage.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  
  <em>
    <span>Why is it suddenly so aggressive?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Ladybug thought. As she pondered, the Light Ghost flew out of the curtain and into the house. It threw balls of light into the drained house lights, partially restoring the original brightness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “</span>
  <em>
    <span>The ghost light is a special light we leave on backstage at all times so the ghosts can see.” Stuart said, “If we don’t, they’ll get mad and try to ruin the show.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  
  <em>
    <span>It needs light to see by.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She thought as she looked around, taking in every flat surface in the auditorium. Ladybug looked down at the bouncy ball in her hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I’ve got it!” Ladybug said, “Brace yourselves, it’s gonna get dark.” Ladybug threw the ball hard into the stage deck, and it bounced up to one of the stage lights, shattering the bulb and making it go dark. The ball bounced back down to the house floor, then off the wall and to the ceiling, breaking one of the house lights. The ball continued to bounce around, knocking out all the lights until the house and stage were both in complete darkness but for the light of the ghost. The Light Ghost stopped in place, looking around in confusion before letting out a furious groan. It tossed out more balls of light, but with the bulbs broken, they couldn’t stay lit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Lightrapper, over to you!” Ladybug said, and she saw the glow of Lightrapper’s pack come up next to her. She heard a clicking noise, and the Light Ghost began to move closer to them. It pushed itself against the air, trying to resist the suction, but it continued to be drawn in, closer and closer, until it disappeared into Lightrapper’s pack, leaving the house completely dark. The ball bounced itself back onto the stage, and by Lightrapper’s light, Ladybug caught it. She tossed it into the air and shouted,</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Miraculous Ladybug!” The ball exploded into a swarm of glowing ladybugs, which flew around the auditorium, repairing everything broken in the fight, including the lights.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Now we need to find the amok.” Ladybug said, “Butterfly, can you get me a reading?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “One second.” the Butterfly said as he put his fingers to his temples.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Ladybug?” David said as he stood from his seat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “What’s up?” Ladybug said as she knelt to meet his eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I think I know who has the amok.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Who?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “My co-director, Stuart.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “What makes you say that?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Well, earlier he was freaking out over the ghost light burning out like he was afraid the theatre would become haunted. And the ghost... you know the story of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hamlet</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Yeah?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Well, back in university, Stuart and I were in </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hamlet</span>
  </em>
  <span> together. He played the King’s ghost, and his costume... it looked exactly like that ghost.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I see.” Ladybug said, “Any luck, Butterfly?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “He’s backstage, in the supply closet.” the Butterfly said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Sounds right,” David said, “I haven’t seen him since he went to replace the ghost light.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I’ll go find him.” Ladybug said before standing up and running into the wings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    Stuart slumped against the back wall of the supply closet, still holding the blue lightbulb. He heard a metallic click, and Ladybug stepped through the door.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Stuart Brooks?” she asked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “What do you want?” Stuart asked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “To save your show.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Tell that to David and Marinette. They’re the ones who didn’t care that the ghost light burned out.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Stuart, I understand how you feel. But what’s more important to you: proving them wrong, or saving the show?” Stuart went silent, and a blue light mask appeared over his face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Don’t listen to her, Stuart.” Mayura said, “You are saving the show. If they don’t take the ghosts seriously, then what’s to stop them from angering them even more?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “That’s right, I am saving the show!” Stuart yelled, “They need to see the consequences of their negligence!” Ladybug was startled by his words, but then she got an idea.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “You want to talk about negligence?” Ladybug retorted, “You still haven’t fixed the ghost light.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Of course not. They chose to ignore it, they can deal with the fallout.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Really? And do you think the ghosts are gonna be particularly happy to find out that you ignored it, too?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “What?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “You knew the light was out, too, but chose not to replace it to prove a point. Does that sound like something the ghosts will be happy with?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Great Caesar’s ghost, what have I done?!” Stuart cried, dropping the lightbulb in shock. The bulb shattered on impact with the hard floor, releasing the amok. Stuart grabbed another lightbulb and ran out the door, while Ladybug opened up her yo-yo and approached the blue feather.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “No more evildoing for you, little amok.” she said, “Time to de-evilize!” Ladybug swiped her arm, yo-yo in hand, at the feather, capturing it in the pool of pink energy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Gotcha!” she said before opening the yo-yo again, releasing the white feather, “Bye-bye, little feather.” Ladybug gave the feather a quick wave as it floated away in the wind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “My patience is wearing thin, Ladybug.” Mayura said, “Soon, your Miraculous will be mine, and that failure will haunt you forever!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    “Well, Lightrapper.” the Butterfly said, “You did a really good job. Now I’m afraid it’s time to recall your powers.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I’m just happy everything turned out alright in the end.” Lightrapper said. The Butterfly held out his hand, and the tenshi flew out from her locket. Her sky blue jumpsuit disappeared, leaving her with her old clothes and hair. The tenshi landed in the Butterfly’s palm, and he clasped his hands around it. With a flash of purple light, he released the white butterfly back into the air.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Now that that’s taken care of,” he said, “I’m about to transform back, so... goodbye, I guess.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Goodbye, Butterfly.” Lila said as the Butterfly ran towards the exit doors. As he stepped outside, a metallic clunk resonated through the house as Marinette and Adrien stepped out from the backstage door. As they came out, they saw Stuart turning on the ghost light: it shined a nice bright yellow-white, and Stuart smiled. At the same time, Nathaniel stepped in through the auditorium doors and made his way down the aisle.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Hey, Nathan.” David said, “Feeling better?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Yeah, thanks.” Nathaniel said as he took his seat. Marinette, Adrien and Stuart came out from the wings. Marinette and Adrien jumped down from the stage, but Stuart stayed up and spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Hey, everyone.” he said, “Listen, I’m... sorry about that sentimonster business. I was thinking about the other sentimonster attacks and... well, I guess you could say I got a little paranoid.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “No worries, Stuart.” David said, “I’m just glad to see you’re alright.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Besides,” Marinette added, “it does get really dark in there, so ghost or no ghost it’s probably good to keep that ghost light working. I already told you about my little slip back there.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Thank you, Marinette.” Stuart said, “And that dress design was really good. I’m sorry for freaking out over the color.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “It’s okay, Mr. Brooks.” Marinette said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Okay, now that we’ve got that out of the way,” David said, “let’s all take five, then we can start rehearsing from ‘living matter’.” With that, everyone in the house turned their attention away from the stage and to each other. As everyone began chatting idly, Nathaniel saw Lila sitting a few seats in, staring at her phone.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  
  <em>
    <span>That vision,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he thought, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’d never seen anything like that before. Is that... </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> what it’s like inside her mind?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Nathaniel scooted a couple of seats towards her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Um, hey.” he said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Oh, hey.” she said, then an awkward pause.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Whatcha doing?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Waiting on a text, I guess.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “You guess?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    Lila sighed, “I texted Pat last night, he still hasn’t responded.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Huh, that is odd. He’s usually good about responding to my texts. Apart from the six-hour time difference, of course.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I hope... I hope I didn’t hurt him too badly. He seemed pretty chill about it last time we spoke, but... he was really angry as Rewriter.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “If it helps, I could try talking to him. If he’s willing, at least.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I would appreciate that. Thanks, Nathaniel.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Hey, don’t worry. I can tell you’ve made a lot of progress since school ended. If there’s anything I can help you with, let me know.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I will. Thanks again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>    That night, Nathaniel sat on the edge of his bed, holding his phone to his ear. A ringback tone played for a few seconds, but then someone answered.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Hey, Nath!” Pat’s voice crackled, “How’s it hanging?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “It’s going good.” Nathaniel responded, “Anything new and exciting happening in America?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Well, I’m planning on doing some summer robotics events, since I was in Paris for districts.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Sounds like fun.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “It is. I did a couple of events freshman year, but this year’s game looks way more fun. What’s up with you? I saw on your RebelArt that you’re working on </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Man-Fly</span>
  </em>
  <span>, so jealous.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Yeah, it’s a lot of fun. Didn’t realize you were such a huge fan.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Honestly, I wasn’t really a fan myself until I looked it up after seeing your posts about it. But now I’m lowkey obsessed.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “In that case, I’ll see about sending you a tape of the performance.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Thanks, bro. Hopefully, I won’t be over it in a week’s time. Happens with me a lot.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    Nathaniel chuckled, “Listen, there’s something else I wanted to talk about.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Ask away. I’m down to talk about anything.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “So, I was talking with Lila this afternoon--”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Except that. Not about that.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Um, okay then. It’s just, she’s in the play, and we run into each other at rehearsal sometimes--”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I said I don’t want to talk about it!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Okay, sorry. Didn’t mean to strike a nerve.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “It’s fine. I’m sorry for snapping. I did get her text if that’s what you’re wondering about.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “It was. She seemed pretty concerned that you weren’t responding.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Tell her not to get her hopes up. I’m really not interested in talking to her.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I understand. I just hope you realize that she’s improved quite a bit since you left.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “She seemed to have improved quite a bit since I arrived, too.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “What’s that supposed to mean?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Look, Nath. She had her chance with me, and she blew it. That’s it. Maybe she’s doing better now, but after what she did, I’m not interested in reconciling.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Are you sure? She feels really bad about hurting you, and wants to be your friend again.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Nathan, Lila was never my friend! Not the real Lila anyway. How can I be sure that the real Lila actually likes Steven Queen’s books, or speaks Japanese?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    Nathaniel sighed, “I guess you can’t. And I guess that you have every right to feel the way you do. I just... didn’t want to leave her hanging, is all.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “That’s fair, I guess. And hey, if you want to be friends with her, that’s your call. I’ve made mine.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I suppose that’s reasonable. Just... if you change your mind, I’m sure she’d still be open to it.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “That’s a big ‘if’, man.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I understand. Look, I can tell you’re upset, I’m sorry I brought it up.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “It’s okay, it’s not your fault. I’ve been dealing with this for a while now, I’m sorry if it felt like I was taking it out on you.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “No, it didn’t feel like that at all.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Good.” A moment of awkward silence.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “So... have you been keeping up with the Ladybug comics?” Nathaniel asked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Oh yeah, definitely!” Pat gushed, “They’re amazing, especially now that they’ve started doing stories with the other heroes.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “I know, right? Especially with the Butterfly in there and all the tenshis.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Yeah. I’m personally glad Sidewinder is finally getting some respect. He wasn’t around long, but I thought he was pretty cool. He’s definitely no Cat Noir, though.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Yeah, definitely.” Nathaniel said, “Well, it’s getting kind of late here, I should probably let you go.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Okay, Nath. It’s been fun chatting.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Yeah. Good talk. Catch you later, bye.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Bye.” The call ended, and Nathaniel flopped down onto his bed. Nooroo flew out of his jacket pocket.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “So, Pat hasn’t come around on the whole Lila thing.” Nathaniel said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Not a surprise.” Nooroo said, “I remember when he was akumatized. So much rage it was kind of scary.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>    “Yeah. I guess that’s not the kind of thing you can just get over. It sucks, but we have to deal with it, I guess.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Graffito</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A fun day of hanging out with Alix is ruined for Nathaniel when a graffiti artist is amokized, creating a sentimonster capable of taking on whatever form the artist chooses. Will Ladybug, Cat Noir, and the Butterfly be able to defeat this monster on their own, or will they have to go further out of their depth than before?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    Alix sat on an examination table, looking at an X-ray image held by a middle-aged man with red hair and a white lab coat. Pinned to the coat was a name tag that read “Timothy Kurtzberg, M.D.”. Nathaniel sat in a chair on the other side of the exam room, drawing on a lap board.<br/>
    “Okay, Alix.” Dr. Kurtzberg said, “Everything’s still looking good, your bones are healing up nicely. If this keeps up, I’d say you’ll be out of this cast in three more weeks.”<br/>
    “Sounds great, Doc.” Alix said.<br/>
    “Now remember, Alix, just because you get out of the cast doesn’t mean everything’s back to normal. The bone still needs a couple of weeks to regain enough strength to withstand strenuous activity, so no skating until then.”<br/>
    “Yep, I’m aware, we’ve been over this.”<br/>
    “I take no chances, Alix. Memory is an imperfect thing.”<br/>
    “Whatever you say, Doc.” Alix got down from the exam table and approached Nathaniel.<br/>
    “Almost done there, red?” she asked.<br/>
    “Almost.” Nathaniel said, “Just a little bit more shading...” he rubbed his eraser lightly against the paper, smoothing out a shaded area, “and done.” Nathaniel handed Alix the newly penciled drawing of her rollerskating in the Trocadero.<br/>
    “What do you think?” Nathaniel asked.<br/>
    “I love it.” Alix said.<br/>
    “Thanks. I still need to ink it and color it, but I thought you’d like to see it anyway.”<br/>
    “You were right about that.” Alix handed the paper back to Nathaniel, “You know, I recently got a commission for a street art piece. One of my brother’s friends from <em> college </em> runs a garage and wants a mural to bring in customers, and... well... I was wondering if you’d be interested in joining me while I work on it tomorrow.”<br/>
    “Like... help you paint?”<br/>
    “I mean, if you’d like to help out, an extra set of hands would be useful, but I meant more just to hang out.”<br/>
    “Well, Alix, that does sound... cool... but, you see, I’ve... got a lot on my hands right now. You know, with the play, and...”<br/>
    “Nathaniel, tomorrow is a Saturday.” Dr. Kurtzberg chimed in, “Mr. Brundle never makes you work Saturdays.”<br/>
    “Yeah, and you can work on any homework you need to do while we’re there.” Alix said, “Like I said, we can just hang out while we work.”<br/>
    “Look, I’d love to, but...”<br/>
    “Nathaniel, I think this could be good for you. It’s been a while since you’ve been out of the house for anything besides school or that theatre job.”<br/>
    <em> Oh, if you only knew. </em> A small voice at the back of Nathaniel’s mind muttered, but he kept his lips shut.<br/>
    “Well, I suppose...” Nathaniel started.<br/>
    “Great. See you tomorrow at noon?” Alix asked.<br/>
    “Sure.” Nathaniel mumbled.</p><p>    Nathaniel walked down the street, his sketchbook in one hand, and his smartphone, with a maps app running, in the other. Nooroo poked his head out from inside Nathaniel’s jacket.<br/>
    “Are you okay, Nathaniel?” the lavender kwami said.<br/>
    “Why do you ask?” Nathaniel deflected.<br/>
    “I’m just sensing a lot of tension in you. A lot of mixed feelings, too.”<br/>
    Nathaniel chuckled, “There’s just no stumping you, is there?”<br/>
    “Mixing your emotions is a good start, though.” Nooroo giggled in response.<br/>
    “I’m just... a little nervous is all.” Nathaniel admitted, “I mean, I enjoy hanging out with Alix, but... I just don’t want to let her down again.”<br/>
    “I’m sure today will be fine, Nathaniel. Trust me.”<br/>
    “Thanks, Nooroo.” Nathaniel said, and Nooroo pulled his head back into Nathaniel’s jacket. Nathaniel looked up and saw a pair of silver garage doors beneath a sign reading “Karima’s Customs”. Alix was already standing by the left door between two folding chairs, shaking a can of black paint. By her feet was a bag containing other colors of paint, and standing between the doors was a tall stepladder.<br/>
    “Hey Alix.” Nathaniel said.<br/>
    “Nathan, you’re late.” Alix said.<br/>
    “I know, I’m sorry.”<br/>
    “Hey, no worries.” Alix said as she gestured to a chair, “Just as long as you don’t go disappearing on me again.”<br/>
    “I don’t disappear that often, do I?”<br/>
    “Let’s see, there was that time that you left in the middle of bad movie night.” Alix said, counting out one finger on her right hand. Nathaniel remembered that night. While he and Alix were watching <em> Goblins III </em> , a tripedal sentimonster with heat vision attacked the city. He had pretended to be sick so he could leave and transform to fight.<br/>
    “I wasn’t feeling well.” Nathaniel lied.<br/>
    “What about when you missed the big unveiling at the Louvre?” Alix counted off another finger, “You seemed so excited to see it.” Nathaniel remembered that one, too. He was legitimately excited when Alix invited him to see a newly discovered Egyptian statue be unveiled. However, the day of the event, a giant spider sentimonster attacked the Trocadero. By the time it was defeated, the event had come and gone.<br/>
    “My train got held up.” Nathaniel lied again.<br/>
    “The time you disappeared into the bathroom at the Chinese place for almost a half-hour?” Alix counted the third finger, “I still don’t know what was up with that.”<br/>
    “Okay, you’ve made your point.” That last one was a particularly embarrassing incident. He’d had to sneak out the men’s room window to fight a giant monster made entirely out of noodles. Going back to his chow mein after that was a strange experience.<br/>
    “I promise, today will be different.” Nathaniel said.<br/>
    “Good, cause I’m gonna hold you to that.” Alix replied as she put on her respirator. She uncapped the can of paint while Nathaniel took a seat. As Nathaniel opened up his sketchbook to a page marked with grid lines, Alix began spraying the garage door with the black paint.</p><p>    Alix climbed down her stepladder and set the black spray paint can down on the ground. Now the garage door was adorned with the outline of a flaming muscle car. She looked upon her work, head held high and hands on her hips.<br/>
    “There, so far so good.” she said before turning to Nathaniel, “What do you think?”<br/>
    “Looks really nice.” he said, “Love the contrast you’ve got going on between the shape of the flames and the car.” Alix looked back at the painting and compared the intricate curvature of the fire with the sharp edges of the vehicle.<br/>
    “Oh yeah, you’re right. I hadn’t even planned that, but it actually works out pretty well.” Alix took a seat in the other folding chair and glanced down at Nathaniel’s sketchbook.<br/>
    “What are you working on?” she asked.<br/>
    “A piece for the play.” Nathaniel said, “It’s a computer display, actually one of multiple that are gonna be swapped out throughout the show.” Nathaniel held up the sketchbook to show Alix the current page. On the grid was a drawing of the top side of a housefly, with a grid line background.<br/>
    “Looking awesome!” Alix said. Nathaniel smiled and pulled the sketchbook back into his lap.<br/>
    “It’s not quite finished yet, of course.” Nathaniel said, “Even when I finish penciling it, I’m gonna have to scan it, do some digital effects, the works.”<br/>
    “Great progress, though.” Alix said.<br/>
    “Oh, def--” Nathaniel was cut off by the sound of police sirens, followed by the sounds of struggling.<br/>
    “What do you think it is?” Nathaniel asked. Alix shrugged in response.<br/>
    “Maybe we should check it out?” she replied as she stood up and grabbed some papers out of her bag. Nathaniel stood up as well, and the two teens and walked in the direction of the noise. Around a corner, they saw Lieutenant Raincomprix dragging a fair-skinned boy with black hair towards his squad car.<br/>
    “You can’t arrest me!” the boy said, “I have a right to free expression!”<br/>
    “And the owner of this building has the right to not have their property defaced.” Roger replied. As the boy was forced into the back of the squad car, Nathaniel felt a chill in his chest.<br/>
    <em> Oh no, </em> he thought, <em> that kid is probably showing up on Mayura’s radar. </em> Lieutenant Raincomprix noticed the two teens peeking around the corner and walked up to them.<br/>
    “Say, what are you two doing here?” Roger asked.<br/>
    “We heard the commotion,” Alix said, “and we got curious.”<br/>
    “I saw them graffitiing that garage around the corner!” the boy in the car shouted, “Aren’t you gonna arrest them, too?”<br/>
    “Yes, it’s true that I was painting on the door to that garage.” Alix said, “However, I was asked to do that by the garage’s owner. I had her permission and approval to paint there. I can show you my documents if you need me to.” Alix handed Roger the papers. One was a copy of her commission contract, the other was an official permit to do the painting.<br/>
    “Yep, these are legit.” Roger said, ignoring the grumbles from the squad car, “Sorry to trouble you. Carry on.”</p><p>    Across Paris, Mayura stands bathed in the light of the massive window, clutching her hand fan to her chest.<br/>
    “An artist silenced by the authorities.” she said, “What a travesty of justice.” Mayura plucked a white feather from her fan and clasped her hands around it. Blue smoke gathered around the feather, turning the feather blue. Mayura blew on the newly charged amok, causing it to drift out the window.<br/>
    “Fly away, my little amok,” Mayura said, “and release this young artist’s creative spirit!”</p><p>    Nathaniel and Alix were walking back towards the garage when he saw the amok floating on the breeze. Nathaniel gasped.<br/>
    “What?” Alix asked. Nathaniel, thinking quickly, patted his pants pockets.<br/>
    “I think I dropped my pencil back there, where we were talking to Roger.” he lied, “I’m gonna have to go find it.”<br/>
    “Nathan,” she groaned, “you told me you weren’t going to disappear today.”<br/>
    “Alix, I just need to grab--”<br/>
    “Like you just needed to use the bathroom at the Chinese place?”<br/>
    “Look, if I don’t come back within five minutes, it’ll be due to circumstances beyond my control.” he said. Alix growled.<br/>
    “Fine.” she said, “Go get your stupid pencil. Take as much time as you need. Not like it’s any of my business.” Alix stormed off on her way, and Nathaniel turned to run back.</p><p>    The amok drifted down towards the police car, through the open window, and landed on the spray paint can in the boy’s hand. A blue light mask appeared around his face.<br/>
    “Victor Gellert,” Mayura said, “I am Mayura. The police are trying to censor your artistic vision, are you going to stand for that?”<br/>
    “No.” Victor said.<br/>
    “Then let me help you. Contained within that spray can is a sentimonster capable of assuming any form you can imagine for it simply by you painting it into a new shape. Now people will see your art in a way that they will never forget! All I ask in return is that you two retrieve Ladybug and Cat Noir’s Miraculous! Do we have a deal?”<br/>
    “Yes, Mayura.” With those words, the light mask disappeared, and the can was enveloped by blue smoke. Victor shook the can and began painting on the car ceiling.</p><p>    Once Alix was out of sight, Nathaniel ducked into an alleyway and opened his jacket. Nooroo flew out from inside.<br/>
    “Nooroo, there’s an amok.” Nathaniel said as he took off his jacket, revealing the purple brooch on his chest.<br/>
    “So much anger.” the butterfly kwami said, staring at Alix as she walked away, “You really upset her.”<br/>
    “I know, Nooroo. I don’t mean to ditch her all the time, but... when a sentimonster attack happens, I kind of have to be there. I wish I could just tell her the truth...”<br/>
    “You can’t! If anyone learns your identity--”<br/>
    “I know, Mayura could find out and use it against me. Still... look, we don’t have time for this. I need to transform now! Nooroo, wings rise!” Nooroo flew into the brooch on his chest, and it sprouted a pair of butterfly-like wings. Nathaniel slid his hands over his face and hair, causing a purple cowl with a silver butterfly mask to appear. The purple continued down over his shoulders and onto his chest, where a large black butterfly symbol appeared. Then purple sleeves appeared on his arms, ending in a pair of black gloves with cuffs like butterfly wings. Rounding out his costume was the continuation of the purple down his legs into a pair of black boots, and a silver butterfly net materializing on his hip. The Butterfly ran out of the alley and around the corner. As the squad car entered his field of view, he heard a loud bang and saw a large bulge form in the roof, breaking the light on top. There was another bang, and the roof burst open as a giant fist, textured like spray paint on concrete, flew up into the air. The fist opened up, revealing a singular red eye staring down at the Butterfly. The giant hand swung down towards the Butterfly, smacking him to the ground. The Butterfly scrambled to his feet and looked towards Lieutenant Raincomprix.<br/>
    “Put out an alert.” the Butterfly said, “I’ll try to get in touch with Ladybug and Cat Noir.”<br/>
    “What about the monster?” Roger asked.<br/>
    “I’ll hold it as long as I can. You get to safety.”<br/>
    “No, I’m not leaving until Ladybug and Cat Noir arrive.”<br/>
    “It’s too dangerous!”<br/>
    “I can’t just leave you alone with this thing.” Lieutenant Raincomprix grabbed the walkie-talkie on his shoulder and pressed the button.<br/>
    “This is Lieutenant Raincomprix. We’ve got a sentimonster on 910 Rue Chevillard. The Butterfly is on-scene.” he said into the receiver, “Get it into the alert system and give me reinforcements. We’re gonna evacuate the residents and close off the street at both ends.”<br/>
    “This is Brigadier Martinez, ten-four.” a voice on the other end crackled, “Alert being processed, twelve units en route.”<br/>
    “Ten-four. Out.” the Lieutenant released the button on the walkie-talkie and drew his gun. He opened fire on the sentimonster.<br/>
    “Thank you, officer.” the Butterfly said before drawing his net and pressing the button on the shaft, retracting the net into a screen with ladybug and cat paw icons. He tapped on the ladybug icon and put the net to his ear.<br/>
    “You’ve reached Ladybug.” Ladybug’s voice said through the speaker, “It seems I’m not transformed at the moment, but leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible.” Ladybug stopped speaking and the speaker beeped.<br/>
    “Ladybug, it’s the Butterfly. We’ve got a sentimonster on Rue Chevillard. It’s taken the form of a giant hand with an eye in the palm. I’m with Lieutenant Raincomprix, we’ll try to keep it at bay until you and Cat Noir can arrive. Get back to me ASAP!” The Butterfly pulled the net away from his ear and pressed the button, returning it to net mode. He turned back to the monster, still being fired at by Roger. One of the shots hit just to the right of the single eye, and the hand-monster pulled back. It clenched itself back into a fist and swung down towards the Lieutenant. The Butterfly, however, swatted it with his net, knocking it towards the wall of a nearby building. The hand opened back up and swept towards the Butterfly. He swung his net again, but the hand grabbed onto the shaft and tossed him to the pavement. As the Butterfly pushed himself to his feet, the hand swooped down and grabbed onto him, causing Roger to stop shooting. The Butterfly squirmed and wriggled, trying in vain to force himself out of the hand’s grasp. He heard the sound of sirens and looked down to see four more police cars driving up next to Lieutenant Raincomprix’s car. As the drivers got out of their cars, the monster lifted the Butterfly higher and higher. The purple-clad hero stopped struggling and began to think. He used what little freedom of movement he had to feel around inside the palm until he found the eye. He shoved his elbow directly into it, causing the hand to release its grip and drop him. The Butterfly plunged to the ground, the air rushing past his ears at a deafening rate. He closed his eyes and concentrated on deploying his wings when suddenly he felt his direction change. He opened his eyes to see himself looking down at a pair of red and black-spotted legs as he swung over the street. They stopped on a rooftop, and Ladybug set him down to get back on his feet.<br/>
    “I appreciate the assist,” the Butterfly said, “but I could handle that on my own.”<br/>
    “Hey, we’re a team.” Ladybug said.<br/>
    “Where’s Cat Noir?”<br/>
    “Down on the street with the cops. Now that all three of us are here, they should go reinforce the perimeter and focus on keeping everyone else safe.”<br/>
    “Leaving the sentimonster to us.”<br/>
    “Hey, the three of us alone have handled a lot of sentimonsters just fine. We can handle this, right?”<br/>
    “Right.” At this point, Cat Noir jumped up and joined them on the roof.<br/>
    “The police are evacuating the civilians right now.” he explained, “They’re in safe hands now. Butterfly, got any intel on this thing?”<br/>
    “Let’s see, the amok is with a graffiti artist who’s mad at the cops for arresting him.” the Butterfly explained, “The monster’s weak spot seems to be in its eyeball. That’s the part it was most defensive of when Raincomprix was shooting at it, and it’s what let me break out of its grip just now.”<br/>
    “Sounds pretty straightforward.” Cat Noir said.<br/>
    “Right, take out the eye, we take out the monster.” Ladybug said, “Then we can grab the amok and de-evilize it.”<br/>
    “The only problem is that it seems very aware of that weakness.” the Butterfly said.<br/>
    “So we need to keep it from defending its eye before we can hit it.” Ladybug said.<br/>
    “Any ideas?” Cat Noir asked. The Butterfly looked down at his own hand and wiggled his fingers around. He closed his hand into a fist and noticed that the center of his palm, where the monster’s eye was, was covered by his middle two fingers.<br/>
    <em> I need a way to keep those two fingers from closing. </em> he thought, <em> Maybe if I weave something between them... </em> The Butterfly grabbed his net off his hip and pulled out the stylus. The net transformed into phone mode, but he stowed it back on his hip. He slid the stylus over his pointer and little fingers, but under his middle and ring fingers. He tried closing his fist again but found that the center of his palm was still completely exposed.<br/>
    “I have an idea.” he said, holding up his restrained hand, “Cat Noir, we’re going to need your staff.” Cat Noir looked at the Butterfly’s hand for a moment, his head cocked to one side, then smiled.<br/>
    “Ah! Good thinking, Butterfly.” Cat Noir said, “But that’s going to be difficult if the hand doesn’t cooperate, isn’t it?”<br/>
    “Hard, but doable.” Ladybug said as she took the yo-yo off her hip, “Cat Noir, you’re on pointer. Butterfly, you take pinky. I’ll wait until everything is ready, then go in for the kill.”<br/>
    “Right.” the two heroes said in unison, and the trio charged toward the monster. Cat Noir pole vaulted with his staff and grabbed onto the monster’s index fingertip. The added weight pulled the finger down into a curled position, and he swung up to stand atop the knuckle before wedging his staff in between the two fingers. The Butterfly used a similar strategy, gliding off the roof edge and grabbing onto the tip of its pinky finger. Once the finger was curled down, he swung up to stand on top of the curled finger, then used his net shaft to pry the ring finger up. Cat Noir followed suit and pried the middle finger up with his staff, giving him a clear view of the Butterfly. The leather-clad hero pressed the pawprint button on his staff, and the metal stick extended across the width of the hand, just like the Butterfly’s stylus. Seeing this, Ladybug threw her yo-yo toward the monster’s eye. The hand tried clenching into a fist, but the staff blocked the middle two fingers from covering the eye, just as they had planned. The yo-yo struck the monster directly in the eye, causing it to fall to the ground. Cat Noir and the Butterfly jumped and rolled just before the giant hand hit the ground, leaving a small crater in the pavement. Ladybug swung down on her yo-yo string and looked at the unconscious monster with a smile.<br/>
    “Nicely done.” she said, “Now to purify the amok.” Ladybug ran up to the squad car with the broken roof and jumped up to land on the edge. When she looked down, however, she saw nothing but empty seats.<br/>
    “He’s not in there!” she said.<br/>
    “What?!” the Butterfly shouted.<br/>
    “He must’ve escaped while we were fighting the monster.”<br/>
    “But why would he do that?” Cat Noir said, “Most people who get amokized just stay in one spot.”<br/>
    “There’s definitely something unusual happening here.” the Butterfly said.<br/>
    “Look!” Ladybug shouted, pointing at the monster. The Butterfly and Cat Noir looked to see the hand dissolving into a tan mist, which floated in a stream down the street.<br/>
    “Follow it.” she said, and the three ran off after the stream.</p><p>    Victor stood in an alleyway three blocks away from the police blockade. He saw the tan mist floating towards him and smiled as he held out his spray paint can. The mist flowed back in through the spray head.<br/>
    “It’s okay,” he said, cradling the can like an infant, “next time will be better.”<br/>
    “There won’t be a next time.” Ladybug said, causing Victor to turn and see her holding out her hand, “Hand over the can.”<br/>
    “Why should I?” Victor said, “Why should I give up on my vision just for your sake?”<br/>
    “Mayura must be messing with his head.” the Butterfly said from around the corner.<br/>
    “Look, we can sort this out peacefully.” Ladybug said, “Just let us take care of the amok, and then we can settle this.”<br/>
    “Sure, you say that now, but how can I trust you? All this time, you’ve done nothing but serve the Establishment.”<br/>
    “Is this guy for real?” Cat Noir muttered, and the Butterfly rolled his eyes.<br/>
    “No one will suppress my vision, not even you!” Victor said as he shook his can. He sprayed a stream of aquamarine onto the wall next to him, but instead of making a blue-green streak of paint, it formed a suction-cupped tentacle. He did the same thing to the opposite wall, and six times to the ground beneath him then painted a circular head connecting the tentacles. Victor waved sarcastically and ran further back down the alley. Ladybug started after him but tripped. She turned to see the end of an aquamarine tentacle wrapped around her ankle: the painting had started to come up from the ground and gained a third dimension. Cat Noir swung his staff at the tentacle, causing it to let go of Ladybug’s ankle.<br/>
    “Thanks, kitty.” Ladybug said before running out of the tentacles’ reach. The painting peeled itself from the walls and ground until a gigantic octopus sat in front of them. The creature slapped its tentacles against the walls beside it, using its suckers to pull itself up. It bared its beak at the three heroes and snapped. Cat Noir raised his staff in response but was grabbed by one of the tentacles. The monster swung him around and bashed him into the walls.<br/>
    “No!” Ladybug shouted as she threw her yo-yo around the arm. When the other end returned to her, she pulled on the string from both ends. The tension in the string cut clean through the soft octopus flesh, severing the arm. Cat Noir fell to the ground but was caught in the Butterfly’s net.<br/>
    “Thanks, bugaboo.” Cat Noir said.<br/>
    “Ladybug, that was genius!” the Butterfly said, “If we can take out the other arms, we’ll be able to defeat it, no problem.”<br/>
    “Good thinking.” Ladybug said before throwing her yo-yo again. The octopus caught it with one of its arms and pulled the string, throwing Ladybug towards it, but she grabbed onto a fire escape, stopping herself. She jumped down from the escape and swung around the octopus’s arm, tying the string around. Back on the ground, Ladybug pulled the string again, cutting off the arm and freeing her yo-yo. Ladybug threw her yo-yo towards another arm, but the octopus pulled it away before the string could wrap around. She reeled the yo-yo back in and threw it up into the air. The string wrapped around a flagpole, and she swung up and around another arm. Ladybug landed on the same flagpole her yo-yo was wrapped around and pulled on the yo-yo string, severing the tentacle. She unwrapped the yo-yo string from the flagpole and jumped down onto the base of another tentacle, which she manually tied the yo-yo string around. Pulling on both ends, the arm came off. The creature grabbed onto her with one of its remaining arms and lifted her into the air. Ladybug threw her yo-yo at the monster’s mouth, and it caught it in its beak. She then passed the end of the string hand over hand, wrapping it around the arm. She pulled the end, and the arm holding her was cut off. Landing with a roll, Ladybug pulled her yo-yo out of the monster’s mouth. The octopus had only three arms left now: one on the left wall, two on the right. Ladybug threw her yo-yo around the one on the left, wrapping the string around until the yo-yo returned to her hand. She pulled both ends, slicing off the arm and causing the monster to fall to the ground, knocking it unconscious.<br/>
    “1! 2! 3!” Cat Noir counted, “He’s down for the count!”<br/>
    “But not out.” the Butterfly said, “Remember, we thought it was down last time.”<br/>
    “Right. We gotta be careful.” Cat Noir said.<br/>
    “We need to get that spray can away from him.” Ladybug said, “That’s where the amok is, and that’s what he uses to bring back the monster in new forms.”<br/>
    “Any ideas, Ladybug?”<br/>
    “Yeah, I got a few.”</p><p>    Victor crept up towards the police blockade. He ducked beside one of the cars, out of sight of any police officers. He crawled the length of the car and saw an officer standing between it and the car in front of it.<br/>
    <em> He can’t stand around there forever. </em> Victor thought, <em> Just gotta wait, then I can make it across the gap. </em> Victor didn’t get a chance to act, however, because he felt a string wrap around his ankle and pull him back behind the blockade. He turned to see Ladybug holding the other end and walking towards him. She reached out to grab the spray can, but he yanked it back and clutched it to his chest.<br/>
    “Get away from me!” he said as he kicked her in the stomach with his free foot. Ladybug dropped her yo-yo string, and Victor returned to his feet, shaking the yo-yo off of his ankle.<br/>
    “Mayura’s messing with your head.” Ladybug said, “It doesn’t need to be like this. Just give me the paint can.”<br/>
    “Why don’t you make me?” Victor said.<br/>
    “Don’t tempt us.” Cat Noir responded. A stream of blue-green mist flew into view, and Victor smiled. He held the spray can up and the mist flew into the spray head.<br/>
    “You’ve done better than I expected.” Victor said as he shook the can, “Looks like I’m going to need something stronger to finally defeat you.” Victor pressed down on the spray head, causing a stream of fiery orange paint to shoot out and onto the wall nearby. One swipe created a spiny, snake-like body, four smaller ones created a set of legs, two wide strokes created a pair of giant wings, and one final stroke created a horned head, which swung out from the wall and shot out a jet of fire. Ladybug and Cat Noir dove to the ground to avoid the flames, while Victor turned and ran towards the other end of the street. The Butterfly chased after him but found his path blocked by a giant orange wing. The dragon whipped its head around and rammed it horns-first towards the Butterfly, but he held his net horizontally in front of him, blocking the horns.<br/>
    “I don’t think this is gonna go down as easily as before.” the Butterfly said.<br/>
    “Lucky Charm!” Ladybug said, throwing her yo-yo into the air. A swarm of ladybugs flew out and gathered around the spinning toy. There was a flash of pink light, and a gong fell into Ladybug’s hands.<br/>
    “A gong?” Ladybug asked, “I don’t see any use for this. Unless... Sit tight, guys! I’ll be right back.” Ladybug threw her yo-yo into the distance and swung away.</p><p>    Master Fu struck his gong, the smell of incense permeating the air. He took a seat on the mat in the middle of the room and began to meditate when suddenly the door burst open.<br/>
    “Master Fu, I-” Marinette started before gagging on the smoke. Master Fu jolted out of his trance and jumped to his feet.<br/>
    “Sorry,” Marinette said, “I didn’t realize you were in the middle of something.”<br/>
    “It’s okay, Marinette.” Master Fu said, “Meditating can wait, you cannot.” Master Fu walked over to the phonograph on his table. He pressed the dragon eyes, then entered the three-button combination. The top of the machine opened up, revealing the Miracle Box inside. He set the box down in front of Marinette and opened the lid, causing the drawers on the side to slide open.<br/>
    “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, pick an ally you can trust on this mission. Choose wisely; such powers are meant to serve the greater good. Once the mission is over, you will retrieve the Miraculous from them and return it to me.” Marinette looked at the various jewels and thought hard.<br/>
    “The problem isn’t the sentimonster,” she said, “It’s the kid with the amok. I need to deal with him before I can get rid of the monster, but I don’t want to hurt him... I’ve got it!” Marinette grabs the Fox Miraculous from the top of the box.<br/>
    “You need Rena Rouge’s help again?” Master Fu asked.<br/>
    “Yep,” Marinette said, “now I just need to bring it to... crud.”<br/>
    “What?”<br/>
    “I just remembered... Alya’s grounded. I guess nearly getting zombified by the Toxicouer was the last straw on the whole Ladyblog thing.”<br/>
    “Can’t you sneak her out?” Master Fu asked.<br/>
    “She’s under constant supervision from her mother and older sister. There’s no sneaking her out.”<br/>
    “I see. So, do you have a new Fox in mind?”<br/>
    “I’ll have to figure that out on the way.” Marinette said as she put the Fox Miraculous into a box and tucked it into her purse, “All I know is that I need the Fox.”</p><p>    Cat Noir swung his staff at the dragon’s leg, knocking it off its foot for a moment, but it recovered and smacked him with its tail. The Butterfly jumped down from a rooftop and swung his net down over the dragon’s head. He pressed the button, and the bag contracted around the dragon’s neck. However, the dragon swung its head down, launching the Butterfly off of its back. The dragon shook the net off of its head and began flapping its wings. It took to the air and let out a fiery roar just as Ladybug swung back down to the street.<br/>
    “Weren’t you going to bring a friend?” the Butterfly asked, picking up his net off the street.<br/>
    “Yeah, I was going to bring back Rena Rouge,” Ladybug said, “but she’s out of commission, and I couldn’t think of a replacement on short notice.”<br/>
    “So what?” the Butterfly asked, “Does one of us get to use it?”<br/>
    “No, it’s too dangerous.” Cat Noir said, “Remember Ladybee?”<br/>
    “Cat Noir’s right.” Ladybug said, cringing slightly at the mention of Ladybee, “Wielding two Miraculous at once can drain your life energy, which can cause serious damage, if not kill you outright. I’d rather not resort to it unless we absolutely have to.”<br/>
    “Okay, makes sense.” the Butterfly said, “So... what are our other options?”<br/>
    “Still trying to figure that out.” Ladybug said as she took the Miraculous box out of her yo-yo, “We need to find a way to get close to the kid without alarming him, and we need the Fox Miraculous to do that.”<br/>
    “Look out!” Cat Noir shouted as the dragon swooped down towards them. The three heroes ducked to avoid the giant claws, and Ladybug dropped the box. The small wooden hexagon skidded across the ground and stopped next to the Butterfly. The dragon flew back up into the air, granting the heroes a slight reprieve. The Butterfly saw the box next to him and grabbed it.<br/>
    “Butterfly, what are you doing?” Ladybug said, “I just told you that’s dangerous.”<br/>
    “I know what you said.” the Butterfly said, “If we don’t do something, that dragon’s gonna kill us and destroy the city. Unless anyone can think of a better solution within the next five minutes, I’m going for it.”<br/>
    “Butterfly-” Ladybug stopped as a memory resurfaced.</p><p><em>     “Marinette,” Master Fu said, kneeling opposite Marinette with the spellbook open between them, “Today, I will teach you about Miraculous fusions.” </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em>     “But Master, aren’t those dangerous?” Marinette replied. </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em>     “Yes, they are.” he said, “You of all people should know.” Marinette cringed, remembering her time as Ladybee. </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em>     “I don’t expect you to use this knowledge at this point in your career.” he continued, “However, it will be important to you one day, and I want you to be ready when that day comes.” </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em>     “Okay.” </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em>     “As you know, fusion heroes can use either of the special abilities each Miraculous grants them.” Master Fu explained, “What you may not know is that a fusion hero may also harness both powers at once and use a special fusion ability.” Master Fu gave several examples, but one, in particular, stood out to her at this moment. </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em>     “When the Butterfly and Fox Miraculous are merged,” he said, “they grant the power of Camouflage, which allows the user to transform themselves into someone they are not.” </em></p><p>    Ladybug looked at the Butterfly holding the Miraculous with newfound intrigue.<br/>
    “Butterfly, I think you have the right idea after all.” she said.<br/>
    “What?” Cat Noir said, “Ladybug, you can’t be serious. It’s dangerous!”<br/>
    “It’s our best shot. If the Butterfly uses the Fox Miraculous, he’ll be able to Camouflage himself into someone else. Then he can get close to the kid and grab the amok.”<br/>
    “But what if it kills him?”<br/>
    “It’s a risk I have to take.” the Butterfly said, and he opened the box. A ball of orange light emerged, then faded to reveal Trixx, the fox kwami.<br/>
    “Butterfly?” Trixx said, “I was expecting...” Trixx was interrupted by a burp of orange gas.<br/>
    “What was that?” the Butterfly asked.<br/>
    “Kwamis can’t name their holders.” Ladybug said.<br/>
    “Ah.” the Butterfly said before putting on the necklace, “Sorry to disappoint...?”<br/>
    “Trixx.” the kwami said.<br/>
    “Sorry to disappoint, Trixx, but right now I need to borrow the Miraculous.”<br/>
    “I don’t know, this feels strange.”<br/>
    “Trust me, Trixx.” Ladybug said, “This is the right move.”<br/>
    “If you insist, just say ‘Let’s pounce!’”<br/>
    “Trixx, let’s pounce!” the Butterfly said, and Trixx flew into the fox-tail pendant, causing it to split into five segments. The Butterfly’s purple costume changed color to a burnt orange color, and the wings on his chest moved down and around to the back of his waist. They turned orange with white tips, as did the gliding wings on his back. Next, his cowl disappeared, revealing his bright red hair, which was now longer and tied into a white-tipped ponytail. His face remained covered, but this time by an orange mask shaped like a butterfly, with white on the lower half. An orange and white striped flute appeared on his back, signifying the end of his transformation.<br/>
    “Awesome!” he said, “I’m... Papillon Rouge!”<br/>
    “Well, Papillon Rouge,” Ladybug said, “do your thing before that monster comes back.”<br/>
    “I’m on it.” Papillon Rouge said. He took the flute off of his back and played a tune, creating a ball of orange light on the end of the flute. He took the net off his hip and touched the end of the flute to the net sock, turning the purple laser-mesh orange. He tossed the net into the air.<br/>
    “Camouflage!” Papillon Rouge said as the net fell over him. The sock expanded to fit him, and the mesh wove itself into a cocoon. Papillon Rouge stood still within the cocoon for a few moments, then it burst open, revealing a figure identical to Alix.<br/>
    “Wow!” Papillon Rouge/Alix said, “This is weird. I even have her voice!”<br/>
    “Okay... why her?” Ladybug asked.<br/>
    “I wanted someone who could rile him up without scaring him away, that way we can draw him out.” he explained, “I remember... sensing that he was upset with her before, so I decided she was perfect for this.”<br/>
    “Makes sense, I guess.” Ladybug said.<br/>
    “Dragon’s coming back!” Cat Noir said.<br/>
    “We’ll handle this. You go find the kid, Butter- Papillon Rouge.” Ladybug said.<br/>
    “Way ahead of you, LB.” Papillon Rouge/Alix said before running off.</p><p>    Victor ran as fast as he could away from where the heroes were.<br/>
    <em> That one should finally defeat them, </em> he thought, <em> And once they’re out of the way, everyone will see my creations! </em><br/>
    “Hey, kid!” a voice said behind him. Victor turned to see Alix leaning against the wall of a building.<br/>
    “Weren’t you supposed to be evacuated?” Victor asked her.<br/>
    “I could say the same about you.” Alix said.<br/>
    “I’m in no danger from this monster. It’s going to make sure that everyone sees my art, and that no one will ever be able to silence me, not even your cop friend.”<br/>
    “Hey, it’s not my fault you chose to express yourself by destroying someone’s property.”<br/>
    “Shut up!”<br/>
    “Make me.” Alix said, crossing her arms. Victor charged towards her and threw a punch at her, but she dodged with inhuman speed. Victor threw another punch, but Alix caught his arm by the wrist. She spun him around and threw him to the ground. Victor swung his leg around at her ankle, but she jumped and his foot passed under her. Victor got up on his feet and threw another punch, but Alix ducked out of the way and ran behind him. She grabbed him by the shoulders, but he spun around, knocking her down to the ground. Alix stood back up and reached for his paint can, but he grabbed onto her arm and twisted it around her back. A smug grin spread across Victor’s face when suddenly he felt a tug on his other arm. He looked down and saw the spray can was no longer in his hand. He looked back at Alix and saw her holding it in her right hand: her bandaged hand! Except now, the cast was broken, revealing an orange skintight sleeve underneath.<br/>
    “Well, that’s taken care of.” ‘Alix’ said, but it wasn’t in her voice: it was the Butterfly’s voice. Papillon Rouge/Alix ran away from Victor. He tried chasing after ‘her’ but was too slow for a superhero, and ‘she’ disappeared from sight.</p><p>    Ladybug swung on her yo-yo string past the dragon’s head, narrowly avoiding a jet of fire breath, while Cat Noir batted away tail attacks with his staff. She landed on top of the dragon’s head and grabbed onto its horns. She gripped tightly as the dragon swung its head around, but she was eventually thrown off. She landed with a roll on the tarmac and shook her head to reorient herself. She looked up to see ‘Alix’ running towards them, holding a spray can.<br/>
    “I’ve got the amok!” ‘she’ said, “Over to you, Cat Noir!” ‘Alix’ tossed the spray can at Cat Noir, who held up his right hand.<br/>
    “Cataclysm!” he shouted, and his ring was charged with black energy. When he caught the spray can, the metal rusted away, releasing a blue feather. Ladybug returned to her feet and opened up her yo-yo.<br/>
    “No more evildoing for you, little amok.” she said as she spun her yo-yo in a circle around her, “Time to de-evilize!” Ladybug threw her yo-yo at the feather, capturing it in the pool of pink energy. She reeled the yo-yo back in.<br/>
    “Gotcha!” she said before opening the yo-yo back up, releasing a pure white feather, “Bye-bye, little feather.” Ladybug tossed the gong up into the air.<br/>
    “Miraculous Ladybug!” she said, and the gong exploded into a swarm of ladybugs. The ladybugs flew up and down the street, repairing all the craters in the pavement, all the damage to the buildings, even fixing Roger’s squad car. The dragon exploded into an orange mist, which quickly evaporated without a trace. ‘Alix’ dropped her Camouflage and turned back into Papillon Rouge. The three heroes came together and bumped fists.<br/>
    “Pound it!” they said in unison. As they pulled away, however, Papillon Rouge fell to the ground.<br/>
    “Butterfly!” Ladybug said, kneeling down to his level. He was still breathing, still conscious, but obviously disoriented and exhausted.<br/>
    “I’m fine, Ladybug.” he said.<br/>
    “You don’t seem alright.”<br/>
    “No, really, I’m-” Papillon Rouge was interrupted by a coughing fit, which ended with him spitting up some blood onto the pavement.<br/>
    “Okay, you’re not fine.” Ladybug said, holding out her hand, “Give me the Miraculous.”<br/>
    “O...okay.” Papillon Rouge said as he took the necklace off, causing his costume to revert back to its original appearance. Ladybug took the necklace from his hand and put it back in the wooden box.<br/>
    “I’m going to go return this to the Guardian.” she said, “Cat Noir, you deal with the police. Butterfly?”<br/>
    “Yes?”<br/>
    “Get some rest.”<br/>
    “Yeah... that sounds good right about now.”<br/>
    “Good, bug out.” Ladybug threw her yo-yo into the distance and swung away.</p><p>    The Butterfly ducked into the alley he first transformed in and took a look around. There was no sign of anyone watching.<br/>
    “Nooroo, wings fall.” he said, and his purple costume gave way to his normal clothes. Once he was detransformed, he reached into his pocket, only for his head to start spinning. He braced himself against the wall and sat down.<br/>
    “That was a very dangerous thing to do, Nathaniel.” Nooroo said.<br/>
    “It was the only option we had.” Nathaniel retorted half-heartedly, “And hey, it worked.” Nathaniel took his phone out of his pocket.<br/>
    “I should call Alix.” he said as he dialed the number.<br/>
    “Are you sure she’ll listen to you?” Nooroo said.<br/>
    “If I don’t reach out now, she’ll be even less willing to listen later.” Nathaniel put the phone to his ear. The ringback tone played for a moment but was cut off by a voice.<br/>
    “Yo, you’ve reached Alix Kubdel with just the worst timing.” it said, “Don’t worry, leave a message at the tone and I’ll get back to you ASAP.”<br/>
    <em> Straight to voicemail, huh? </em> he thought, <em> Guess she doesn’t want to talk after all. </em> The voicemail beeped.<br/>
    “Hey, Alix, it’s Nathan.” he said, “I’m sorry for disappearing... again. A sentimonster appeared while I was grabbing my pencil, and I guess we got separated in the evacuation. But... you were probably expecting to hear that. I wish I could say it won’t happen again, but let’s be honest, it’s gonna happen again. I don’t know how to put this, but there’s just... so much going on in my life that I can’t even begin to tell you about. I enjoy spending time with you, but... I guess now just isn’t the right time for it. I’m sorry, and I just... hope you understand. Bye.” Nathaniel took the phone away from his ear and ended the call.<br/>
    “Are you sure that was the right thing to say?” Nooroo asked.<br/>
    “Well, I can’t tell her my identity, but I can’t keep leading her on either.” Nathaniel said, “I just wish being a superhero wasn’t so difficult.” Nooroo flew onto Nathaniel’s shoulder and nuzzled his neck.<br/>
    “Come on, let’s get you home.” the lavender kwami said, “Your parents are probably worried sick.”<br/>
    “You’re right.” Nathaniel stood up, but still felt a little dizzy, “Though coming home in this condition might not change that.” Nathaniel picked up his jacket and stepped out of the alley.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Mayura (Finale - Part 1)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ladybug and Cat Noir finally learn Mayura's true identity, but she disappears without a trace when confronted. With one mystery traded for another and a high stakes battle on the horizon, our heroes are going to need all the help they can get... even from an old enemy.</p>
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  <span>     Marinette, Adrien, and Master Fu all knelt in a circle together. In the middle, Wayzz hovered in a meditative position, his eyes shut tight. The aura of green light around him started to turn blue around the edges, but the aura quickly faded, and he dropped to the floor.</span>
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  <span>     “I’m afraid it’s no use.” Master Fu said, picking up Wayzz and setting him down inside a matchbox.</span>
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  <span>     “Please, Master. Let me try again.” Wayzz begged weakly, “This time, I’m sure I’ll be able to locate Duusu’s aura.”</span>
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  <span>     “Save your energy, Wayzz.” Master Fu said, “It’s clear to me now that Duusu’s aura is too weak for a single kwami to triangulate, even one as receptive as you. We’re just going to have to find Mayura another way.” Master Fu turned to Adrien and Marinette.</span>
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  <span>     “Adrien, I know this is asking much of you, but... your father said he had the Peacock Miraculous along with the Butterfly, did he not?”</span>
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  <span>     “Yes, Master.” Adrien replied, “But we couldn’t find it anywhere in the mansion. The closest we found was... this replica.” Adrien pulled a peacock-shaped brooch out of his shirt pocket and showed it to Master Fu.</span>
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  <span>     “Wait, why did you bring that here in the first place?” Marinette asked.</span>
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  <span>     “I bring it with me everywhere,” Adrien said, “as something to remember Mom by. I know she probably never wore it, but...” Marinette threw her arms around Adrien, startling him.</span>
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  <span>     “Oh,” she said, breaking the hug, “sorry, I... it seemed like you were getting emotional, and--”</span>
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  <span>     “It’s okay, Marinette.”</span>
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  <span>     “Well, if your father had the Miraculous,” Master Fu continued, stroking his beard, “but you couldn’t find it in the house, perhaps he might know something about its whereabouts?”</span>
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  <span>     “Maybe, but it’s not like I can just ask him.”</span>
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  <span>     “And why is that?”</span>
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  <span>     “Well, he’s in prison for one. And for two... our relationship has been in a weird spot ever since I found out he was Hawk Moth.”</span>
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  <span>     “Understandable.” Master Fu said, “I don’t intend to pressure you into doing something you’re not comfortable with, but it may be our only option.”</span>
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  <span>     “Thank you, Master. I will... consider. But even if I do decide to ask him, how am I going to do that if he’s in prison? If they let me see him at all, there’ll be guards watching us too closely for us to talk about hero business.”</span>
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  <span>     “That could be a problem, but there are ways.” Master Fu stood up and walked over to his phonograph machine. He opened it up to reveal the Miracle Box inside and removed a pair of folded up sunglasses with horseshoe-shaped rims. He put the sunglasses in a Miraculous case and handed them to Adrien.</span>
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  <span>     “Adrien, this is the Horse Miraculous, which grants the power of transportation. If you decide that you must see your father, this will allow you to covertly access his prison cell.”</span>
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  <span>     “Really?” Adrien asked, and Master Fu nodded.</span>
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  <span>     “But... isn’t that illegal?” Marinette chimed in.</span>
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  <span>     “Sometimes, Marinette, a hero must choose between obeying the law and protecting their people. Every day we don’t find Mayura is a day more people could be hurt. If the only way to find her and defeat her is to break the law, then that is what we must do. Just be prepared to face the consequences.”</span>
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  <span>     “Right.” Adrien slipped the Miraculous into his bag and stood up, “I will consider your plan, Master Fu. But right now, Marinette and I should get moving. The dress rehearsal in an hour.”</span>
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  <span>     “We should.” Marinette said as she stood up as well, “Goodbye, Master.”</span>
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  <span>     “Goodbye, you two. I hope to see you again soon. Good luck with the play!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Lila stood next to the computer terminal as Adrien, wearing a fake compound eye and proboscis, buzzed at her menacingly. The green-clad girl whimpered in fear.</span>
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  <span>     “Phillippe, please!” she cried, “Don’t do this! I know you’re still in there somewhere! Please, get back!” Adrien grabbed her by the shoulder and placed his head inches away from her neck, buzzing even louder than before. Then he stopped. He pulled his trembling hands from her body and stumbled backward. His buzzing became more erratic, like the breathing of a crying man, and he ran into the large pod upstage, slamming the door shut. Lila ran crying to the pod and banged as hard as she could.</span>
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    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Phillippe, please! Let me help you! It’s not too late!” Through the large window on the door, Adrien could be seen pointing at the terminal. Lila turned to look at it, and then back to the pod.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “No! I can’t do that. You said it yourself, it would kill you!” Adrien turned in the pod and looked down at the floor.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Isn’t there another way?!” Lila pleaded, but Adrien shook his head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I don’t want to, but... I can’t stand to see you in so much pain...” Lila turned back to the terminal and shuffled towards it. She looked back at the pod and saw the pleading in Adrien’s single visible eye. Lila closed her eyes and flipped a large switch. The LEDs on the terminal blinked many different colors, and Adrien crouched down below the bottom of the window. A spotlight flashed on the pod, and the terminal lights stopped blinking. Lila walked up to the pod and opened up the door. On the other side was nothing but a pile of dust. Lila collapsed to the floor sobbing and picked up some dust. The particles trickled down from between her fingers, and the stage lights dimmed. Some people in the house clapped and the stage lights came back up. Adrien stepped out from behind the rear traveler curtain and removed his headpiece, and walked downstage with Lila and some other actors who came out from the wings. David Brundle stood up from his seat and walked up to the stage.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “That was amazing!” he said, “Bring that kind of effort this weekend, and everything will go great!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Thank you, Mr. Brundle.” Lila said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Please, we’ve worked together long enough, call me David.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “O...okay.” she said as a smile stretched across her lips, “Thank you, David.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Don’t mention it. Remember, be here by 4:30 this Saturday for opening night.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Right.” the actors all said in unison, then they split up and walked down into the house. Marinette was seated in the back row, where she took out a copy of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tales by Edgar A. Poe</span>
  </em>
  <span> and began to read from </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Purloined Letter</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Behind on the summer reading, are you?” Adrien joked as he sat down next to Marinette.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Oh, give me a break. I’ve just been so busy, between the play, putting together my portfolio, and... the other stuff.” Marinette winked at Adrien and went back to her book. She read a couple more pages, then Lila came up the aisle, still wearing her green, leaf-front dress.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Hey, Marinette, if you’ve got a sec?” she said, and Marinette looked up from her book.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “What is it, Lila?” Marinette said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I was thinking... maybe you’d like to get some shots of the dress? I mean, I heard you mention a portfolio and...”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Of course!” Marinette said as she stuffed the book into her backpack. She stood up and led Lila out of the house door, and Adrien took the sunglasses out of his pocket, turning them over in his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once in the front hallway, Marinette took out her phone and opened up the camera app. She held the phone up and took a few pictures of Lila, who turned around for Marinette and struck a few silly poses, making the two of them laugh.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Double-threat: actress and model.” Marinette joked as she snapped the last couple of pictures, then Lila sat down on the bench and sighed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “You alright, Lila?” Marinette said as she sat down next to her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Oh, yeah.” Lila said, her shoulders squared up and a smile plastered on her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “You’re lying again.” Marinette said, “What’s wrong?” Lila relaxed and let out a deep breath.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I was thinking about something I heard... that a good dress rehearsal is a sign that things will go wrong.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Now, where would you hear something like that?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Stuart.” the two girls said in unison.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Stuart also tried to tell me that your green dress would curse the play. Trust me, it’s going to be fine.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I know, I just... I can’t escape this feeling that something isn’t right.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Try to think of it this way, Lila. After a good dress rehearsal, it’s easy to imagine an actor getting cocky. And when an actor gets cocky, they let their guard down, and they let things slip. The fact that you’re still concerned about the show going well even after a good dress rehearsal tells me you aren’t letting your guard down anytime soon.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I suppose that makes sense.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Trust me, Lila. If you work as hard on opening night as you’ve been doing in rehearsal, you are going to crush it.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     Lila let out a calm breath.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Thank you, Marinette.” Marinette held up her hand for a fist bump, and Lila tentatively obliged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Gabriel Agreste sat on the bed of his prison cell, his usual white suit replaced with a simple purple shirt and black slacks. The reinforced glass window provided the only view to the outside, showing him the waning half-moon. As he adjusted himself to lay down to sleep, a circle of brown light appeared on the wall opposite him. The circle opened into a portal and out stepped a blonde teen, dressed in a suit of brown leather and horseshoe sunglasses, and his hair pulled back into a ponytail.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Who are you?” Gabriel asked, a twinge of fear in his voice, “What do you want with me?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Really? I’d think you of all people would recognize me.” the boy said, “Kaalki, dismount.” At his words, an equine kwami flew out from the glasses, turning them into a normal pair of pince-nez glasses, and the hero turned into Adrien Agreste. Adrien handed the kwami a slice of apple and turned to his father.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Adrien?” Gabriel said, “I’m... sorry for not recognizing you.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “It’s not your fault. Miraculous glamour and all.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Right. Tell me, son, why are you here?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I have some questions for you, Dad.” Adrien said, “About the whereabouts of the Peacock Miraculous.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “What do you mean? I thought it was in the safe behind the painting, next to the grimoire.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “We looked there, all we found was one of your replica brooches.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “What?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Plagg did a clean sweep of the entire mansion, too, but he couldn’t find it anywhere.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “What? I’m certain it was there before the fight.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “All I know is that it wasn’t there the next morning, and someone’s been using it to attack Paris all summer.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “That’s impossible. No one could’ve gotten into that safe except for myself and... oh no.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “What?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Nathalie must have taken it.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “What? She knew about the Miraculous?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Nathalie was my assistant in every regard. Even as Hawk Moth, she was my sole confidante. Only she had access to the secret safe. She must have heard about my arrest and taken that as a cue to step in and take over. Adrien, please. Get that brooch away from Nathalie before she suffers the same fate as your mother!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “What? What are you talking about? I thought Mom was killed by a bunch of vengeful criminals.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “That’s... not the full story. You see, the Peacock Miraculous... it’s damaged. Unlike us, she didn’t automatically detransform when her kwami’s energy was drained. And when that happened... it drained some of her life energy. That night, when she was confronted by every criminal in Paris, she was forced to create a sentimonster to protect herself. She managed to hold them off and escape, but by the time she did, she had already lost a lot of her life energy, and... she died. Then I found her body, Duusu explained everything, and... you know the rest.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     Adrien took a deep breath and looked down at the floor.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “So, if Nathalie keeps using the Peacock Miraculous...” he said, “she could lose her life energy, too.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Please, Adrien. Don’t let Nathalie share your mother’s fate. I made a terrible mistake in becoming Hawk Moth, I’d hate for Nathalie to suffer for my actions.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     Adrien closed his eyes, a million thoughts running through his head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I’ll do it.” he said, “Not because you tell me to, but because I swore to protect this city and everybody in it. That includes Nathalie.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I understand.” Gabriel said, “I trust you to do the right thing, Adrien.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Well, I should be going now.” Adrien said, putting the glasses back on his nose, “Kaalki, saddle up.” The horse kwami flew into the glasses, and Adrien’s brown leather costume returned.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Voyage.” Adrien said, and with a toss of the horseshoe on his back, the brown portal appeared on the wall again. He stepped through without looking back, and the portal closed behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Nathalie sat at her desk, going through a cluttered e-mail inbox.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  
  <em>
    <span>You know, when Gabriel told me that I would be taking over the company, I was expecting something a little different from just doing the same thing as before.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Nathalie thought. As she took a sip of her coffee, the office door suddenly burst open, and Ladybug and Cat Noir entered the room.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Hello, Miss Sancoeur,” Cat Noir said, “Or should I say, Mayura?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “And why should you say that?” Nathalie asked, a smug grin on her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Your partner squealed on you.” Cat Noir said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Miss Sancoeur, the Peacock Miraculous is damaged.” Ladybug said, “Every time you use it, not only are you endangering everyone in Paris, you’re endangering yourself.” Ladybug extended her hand, “Hand it over, and this can all be over with.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     Nathalie let out a chuckle, “I’ve actually been waiting for you to find me.” she said, standing up from her desk, “Now I don’t have to bother with a sentimonster. I can deal with you right here and now.” Nathalie removed her glasses and cast them aside.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Duusu, dark feathers fan!” a blue, bird-like kwami was sucked into the brooch on Nathalie’s chest, transforming it into a blue, five-feathered peacock shape. A ring of blue energy went down from her shoulders to her ankles as a blue dress appeared around her body. A blue and purple cocktail hat appeared on her head, its transparent veil covering her right eye, and her skin and hair turned blue, with purple lipstick on her lips. A large hand fan appeared in her left hand, and Mayura assumed a refined poise.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Now,” she said, “shall we begin?” Ladybug charged at Mayura and swung her yo-yo, but Mayura swatted her aside with her fan. Cat Noir ran towards her, staff outstretched, but Mayura threw a segment of her fan like a dart at his shoulder, piercing through his suit and embedding itself in his flesh. Cat Noir collapsed to his knees and rolled over onto his back. Mayura smirked at him as he writhed in pain, then she walked towards Ladybug, holding another fan segment. Ladybug, however, kicked Mayura in the stomach, knocking her into the wall of framed pictures. Ladybug rushed to Cat Noir’s side and helped him sit up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Are you alright, kitty?” she asked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “It’s a long fall,” he said, “but I’ll land on my feet.” Cat Noir stood back up, but fumbled and landed on his knee. He tried again, stabilizing himself on Nathalie’s desk, and successfully returned to his feet. Picking his staff up off the ground, Cat Noir approached Mayura and swung his staff at her, knocking her into Gabriel’s abandoned desk.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Over to you, m’lady.” Cat Noir said, and Ladybug threw her yo-yo into the air.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Lucky Charm!” she shouted, and a swarm of ladybugs flew out from her yo-yo, dropping a small hexagonal box in her hands.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “A Miraculous case?” Ladybug asked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Whatever purpose that could possibly serve,” Mayura said, “it won’t do you any good if you don’t have a chance to use it.” Mayura picked up one of Gabriel’s pencils and plucked a feather from her fan. She charged the feather with black energy and touched it to the pencil. A fine gray mist streaked out from where Mayura stood, completely obscuring Ladybug and Cat Noir’s vision.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “It’s some kind of smoke sentimon--” Cat Noir said before breaking out in a coughing fit. Ladybug looked down at her hand and saw small, shiny gray flakes on her glove.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “It’s not smoke, it’s graphite!” she said, “If I can just get it all swept up--” Ladybug also began to cough, and the dust all disappeared in a puff of blue smoke. The two heroes looked around, but Mayura was nowhere to be seen.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “She got away.” Ladybug said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “We need to find her and get that brooch back.” Cat Noir said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “But we can’t just search the entire city by ourselves. We need to come up with a strategy.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Right. Let’s retreat and regroup.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Marinette carried a shopping bag up the trapdoor ladder to her bedroom, where she found Adrien sitting on her chaise.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “What do you have there?” he asked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Our strategy board.” Marinette said, taking a rolled-up map out of the bag and laying it on the floor. She also took out two sleeves of poker chips, one red and one blue, and opened them up and set the two stacks on the floor.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “If we’re going to find Nathalie, we’re going to need to narrow down our search.” Marinette said, “Red chips represent places we can safely assume she wouldn’t be hiding at, blue chips represent places where we can safely assume she’s would.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Okay. First, I say put a red chip on Hawk Moth’s old lair.” Adrien said, “It’s an obvious hiding spot and she knows we know its location.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Took the words right out of my mouth.” Marinette laid down a red chip where Hawk Moth’s lair would be on the map. “Do you know if Nathalie has any family?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Not in Paris. As far as I’m aware, the only family she has is her mother in Marseille, but I doubt she’d go that far from the city if she still wanted our Miraculous.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Yeah, I didn’t think so either. So she’s probably not anywhere above ground. What about underground?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “The sewers would probably be the best place to disappear, especially if she’s assuming a worst-case scenario where everyone knows her identity.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “So that should be the first place we look.” Marinette said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Except the sewers are about as big as the city itself. So that doesn’t really save us a lot of work.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Now, kitty, we’ve just saved ourselves half the search. Besides, I have some ideas to narrow down even further.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Go on, princess.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Well, if I were to try to disappear into the sewers, I would naturally want to take the nearest entrance.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “So if we can find the nearest entrance to the mansion, then we’ll have our starting point.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Precisely.” Marinette took her phone out of her pocket and pulled up a map of the Paris sewers off of Giga, and compared it to the map on the floor. When she found the closest access point to the Agreste Mansion, she placed a blue chip down on the paper map.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Ladybug and Cat Noir stood a couple of blocks away from the Agreste Mansion, lifting a sewer grate out from the roadside. As they set it down on the sidewalk, they heard a voice from a nearby rooftop.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “You know there are better places to take a dip, right?” the Butterfly said before gliding down to the sidewalk.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Save your one-liners for Mayura, Butterfly.” Cat Noir said, “We think she’s hiding down there somewhere.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Well, it’s a good thing I showed up. You guys are gonna need all the help you can get.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Shoot, you’re right. We already tried fighting Mayura two on one and got beaten pretty bad.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Okay, Butterfly. We’re going to split up and search the sewers for Mayura.” Ladybug explained, “If you find her or run into any other trouble, send an emergency signal.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Roger.” he said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Now, let’s go.” Ladybug climbed down the wall-mounted ladder into the sewer, followed by Cat Noir and the Butterfly. They emerged at a T-intersection.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I’ll take front,” Ladybug said, “Cat Noir, you take right. Butterfly, you take left.” The three all nodded in agreement, then went off their separate ways.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The left tunnel led the Butterfly to a stream of wastewater, which flowed from a large grate to his right. To the left was a walkway running parallel to the stream, with footprints in the dust. The Butterfly gripped his net tightly and followed the footprints down the walkway, not noticing an occasional ripple in the surface of the water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Ladybug walked through the front tunnel, carrying her yo-yo as a flashlight. Several pipes ran overhead and to her sides. A group of rats suddenly ran past her feet.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Eep!” she squealed as one of their tails brushed her ankle. She shook her head and kept walking, unaware that the rats were continuing to follow her from a distance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Cat Noir stalked through the labyrinth of tunnels that branched out from the right tunnel, taking in his surroundings with his night vision. Every new tunnel he entered, he could faintly hear the sound of stone creaking, but every time he looked back he saw nothing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  
  <em>
    <span>Must just be my imagination. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He thought as he turned left out of the tunnel, unaware of the shifting stones behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The Butterfly followed the trail of footprints until they abruptly stopped. He looked around but saw no other tunnel or exit anywhere in the vicinity.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “This can’t be right.” the Butterfly said, “I would’ve noticed if the footprints doubled back. There’s nowhere she could’ve gone, except...” the Butterfly looked down at the waterway next to him and scrunched his nose. As he turned around and took the stylus out of his net handle, he heard a splashing noise. He reinserted the stylus and looked back to the water. Just breaching the surface was a green, scaly head with golden, slitted eyes. The Butterfly pressed the butterfly symbol on his net handle in an SOS pattern, and the center of his Miraculous flashed red as a crocodilian form lunged out from the water, grabbing his net between its jaws.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Ladybug’s yo-yo vibrated in an SOS pattern and opened to a map screen with a purple blip flashing red. Ladybug turned to run back to the junction but felt a bunch of tiny feet crawling up her legs. She shone her flashlight at her lower body and saw the rats swarming around her, climbing up her legs. She swung her legs around trying to shake them off, but they held on as more kept crawling up. As she struggled to suppress the panic rising inside of her, a rat the size of a tiger entered her flashlight beam, causing her to let out a blood-curdling scream.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Cat Noir heard Ladybug screaming and spun around on his heels. He let out a ferocious hiss and bolted towards the tunnel he came from but found himself facing a left turn instead of the right turn he expected. Still, he pressed on, going through the next two tunnels until reaching a dead end.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  
  <em>
    <span>Okay, what is going on here?</span>
  </em>
  <span> He thought as he turned back, only to find the tunnel behind him sealed off with a layer of brick. Cat Noir pounded on the wall, but the bricks held firm.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Cataclysm!” he shouted, holding up his right hand. His ring charged with black energy, and he thrust it into the wall, causing it to crumble to pieces. The bricks grew mossy legs and scurried off in various directions. He ran through the tunnel and saw the entrance to another tunnel in front of him. A glance at his map confirmed that this was where a tunnel should be, and he bolted for the entrance. As he ran, however, the bricks surrounding it shifted, closing off the tunnel as a new one opened up to his left. He accelerated his pace and dove for the closing hole. It was a tight fit, but Cat Noir was just barely able to squeeze through.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “You know what they say, cats are liquid.” Cat Noir said before running off in Ladybug’s direction.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Cat Noir found Ladybug lying on the floor, struggling against a swarm of normal-sized rats as they dragged her towards a gigantic rat. Cat Noir let out a snarl, startling the rats on Ladybug’s legs. This allowed her to kick them off and scramble away. The rats scurried back towards Ladybug, but Cat Noir swatted them back with his staff. Ladybug threw her yo-yo at the giant rat, but it swatted the yo-yo away with its tail. Cat Noir thrust his staff at the rodent’s face, but it bit down on the shaft and swung him into the wall. Ladybug threw her yo-yo around the rat’s tail and pulled back, causing the creature to release its grip on Cat Noir’s staff. Cat Noir regained his bearings and smacked the rat’s belly with his staff. The monster began to gag and spat out a glowing blue object in the shape of a metal cheese can.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “The amok?” Ladybug asked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “It’s been carrying it in its stomach this whole time? Gross!” Cat Noir said before tossing the can to Ladybug. She smashed it under her foot, releasing a blue feather, which she caught in her yo-yo cavity.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Gotcha.” she said before opening the yo-yo back up, releasing the now-white feather. The giant rat disappeared in a puff of blue smoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “What took you so long?” Ladybug asked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “The tunnels kept changing on me,” Cat Noir said, “I had to Cataclysm my way-- uh-oh. I need to change back soon.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I’ll keep watch while Plagg eats.” Ladybug said as she checked her yo-yo map, “But be quick, the Butterfly still needs us.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Right. Plagg, claws in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The Butterfly held his net shaft in front of him, using it to block the jaws of the alligator monster. He pushed as hard as he could, but the monster was stronger and shoved him to the ground. The creature planted one of its humanoid feet on the Butterfly’s chest and pulled the net out of his hands. It spat the net off to the side and roared. The Butterfly felt a scaly hand wrap around his throat and was thrust into the tunnel wall. A small blue object dangled from the creature’s wrist, but the Butterfly didn’t notice as the monster threw him to the floor again. He saw his net lying on the ground a couple of meters away. He scrambled to reach for it, but the monster planted its foot on his right leg, immobilizing him. The Butterfly, however, kicked the creature’s ankle with his left foot. The creature winced, reducing the pressure on the Butterfly’s leg just enough for him to escape. He ran to grab his net, then turned to face his adversary. The creature growled, emotionless tears dripping from its eyes, and it charged at the Butterfly. The Butterfly dodged the attack and swatted the monster with his net, but the gator swung its tail, sweeping his legs out from under him and knocking him to the ground. The Butterfly pulled himself up, only to get punched back down. The monster raised its tail and coiled it back for a strike, but suddenly the tail was caught in a black string. The creature turned its head and saw Ladybug holding the other end of the string. It snarled at her and charged, but Cat Noir swung his staff at its lower jaw, stunning it. Before the alligator could regain its bearings, Ladybug pulled on her yo-yo string, knocking the creature down on its back. The Butterfly got back up and swung his expanded net, scooping up the alligator monster’s legs in the sock before closing it back up around its hips.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Okay, we’ve got this thing captured.” The Butterfly said, “Now we need to find the amok.” Cat Noir looked through the mesh net and saw the blue object on its wrist.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “And I think I just did.” he said before feeding his staff through the opening in the net. The monster thrashed in the net, trying to grab the staff, but it was immobilized by the tension, and Cat Noir was able to fish the bracelet off of its wrist. Once it was out in the open, Cat Noir handed it to Ladybug, who tore the strap in two. The small blue feather drifted out, and Ladybug caught it in her yo-yo, purifying it. The crocodile monster disappeared from the Butterfly’s net, so he stowed it back on his hip.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “So, what took you so long?” the Butterfly said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I got held up by a tunnel that kept changing randomly.” Cat Noir said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “And then we got held up fighting a giant rat sentimonster.” Ladybug added.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “That doesn’t make sense, though.” the Butterfly said, “Mayura should only be able to make one sentimonster at a time.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Normally that would be true.” Ladybug said, “But the Peacock Miraculous is damaged, so its power limiters aren’t working properly.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Damaged? I didn’t even know that was possible!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Not by mundane forces,” Ladybug said, “but with strong enough magic, anything is possible.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Well, my way led to a dead-end, what about you two?” the Butterfly asked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Honestly, I have no idea which way my path leads.” Cat Noir said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “And I have a hard time imagining Mayura getting past all those rats, even without the sentimonster.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “So I guess this whole thing was a red herring.” Cat Noir said as he slumped against the sewer wall.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “We’ll find her somehow, kitty.” Ladybug said, “I’m sure of it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Marinette climbed down the ladder from her balcony into her bedroom. Still spread out on her floor was the map of Paris with the poker chip markers on it. She sighed and replaced the blue chip on the street corner with a red one, then flopped back onto her chaise. Tikki flew out of her purse and hovered in front of her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Don’t feel bad, Marinette.” the ladybug kwami said, “It was the best lead that you had.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “It was the only lead that we had, Tikki!” Marinette whined, “Now we have nothing!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “You’ll find something else, I’m sure of it.” Tikki said, but Marinette just rolled over. Tikki puzzled for a moment, then flew into Marinette’s backpack and grabbed her copy of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tales by Edgar A. Poe</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Here,” Tikki said as she carried the book to Marinette, “I hear that when you’re stuck on one task, you should work on another. Maybe changing gears will get your brain going again.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Tikki, I appreciate the effort, but right now I just need to rest.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Okay, Marinette. Just something to consider.” Tikki flew over to Marinette’s desk and into a box of macarons. Marinette continued to lie down for several minutes, but now and then, her eyes would flit over to the book sitting next to her. Eventually, she took a deep breath and picked the book up. Finding her bookmark, she continued where she left off in </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Purloined Letter</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She rolled her eyes and groaned repeatedly as Dupin shared stories of schoolyard games and how to play them intelligently, but she stopped in her tracks the moment she read one paragraph.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"But the more I reflected upon the daring, dashing, and discriminating ingenuity of D--; upon the fact that the document must always have been at hand, if he intended to use it to good purpose; and upon the decisive evidence, obtained by the Prefect, that it was not hidden within the limits of that dignitary's ordinary search --the more satisfied I became that, to conceal this letter, the Minister had resorted to the comprehensive and sagacious expedient of not attempting to conceal it at all.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>     Marinette froze like a statue, her book falling out of her hand and dropping to the floor.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “When someone is hiding something and knows someone is looking for it,” Marinette paraphrased, “the most obvious hiding place becomes the least obvious hiding place.” She raced to the map on her floor and found the only red chip, which sat on the location of Hawk Moth’s former lair. She swapped it for a blue chip and took out her phone.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Adrien, meet me back at my place. I think I’ve cracked the case.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     “You’re serious, right?” Adrien said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Absolutely.” Marinette said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “But it’s too obvious! Nathalie would be insane to hide there of all places!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “And she knew that we would assume that, and not bother looking there, which makes it the perfect place to hide!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Okay, I think I get it now. It’s still an odd line of reasoning, but... it adds up. So what’s the plan?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Well, earlier, I thought that we could just do it with the three of us... you know, like when we fought Hawk Moth.” Marinette picked up the red and black-spotted Miraculous case from her desk, “But thinking more about this Lucky Charm... I think we’re going to need all the help we can get. I’ll go to Master Fu and get the other Miraculous. You contact the Butterfly however you can, and tell him we’re meeting at the top of the Eiffel Tower at eight o’clock to devise a strategy.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Alya sat at her computer, staring at a TVi news article: “Miraculous Trio Seen Entering Sewer System”, the headline read. On another monitor was the Ladyblog text editor, open to a blank document titled “Spotted in the Sewers, No Sentimonster in Sight?” Alya glanced back and forth from the TVi site to the blinking cursor on the Ladyblog. She cracked her knuckles and reached for the keyboard when suddenly she heard a tapping on her window. Alya nearly jumped out of her chair when she glanced and saw Ladybug herself standing on her fire escape. Racing to open her window, Alya let the red and black-spotted heroine into her bedroom.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “OMG!” Alya said, “This is incredible! I had just read about your little sewer excursion this morning and was about to give my thoughts on it, but now I can actually hear it from the source herself! Just wait here, I’ll grab my phone, and--”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Alya, I’m not here to give an interview.” Ladybug said, “I’m here because I need your help.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “For real?!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “For real. I think I know where Mayura is hiding out, but if I’m right, we’re going to need all hands on deck.” Ladybug opened her yo-yo and took out a Miraculous case, presenting it to Alya.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Alya Cesaire, here is the Miraculous of the Fox, which grants the power of illusion. You will use it for the greater good.” Alya took the small box out of Ladybug’s hand and opened it up. A ball of orange light emerged before taking shape into Trixx, the fox kwami.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Hey, Alya!” Trixx said, “Great to see you again!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Good to see you too, Trixx.” Alya said as she took the pendant from the box and put it around her neck.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I’ll go give the other heroes their Miraculous,” Ladybug said, “I want you to meet us on top of the Eiffel Tower at eight o’clock tomorrow morning.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “So wait, you’re letting me keep the Miraculous overnight?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Taking down Mayura is going to take a lot of planning.” Ladybug said, “I can’t exactly pull you away at any given moment like when there’s an akuma or sentimonster. I’m trusting you with the Miraculous now so we can confer later.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I won’t let you down, Ladybug.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I wouldn’t expect you to.” Ladybug smiled at Alya, then swung away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Nino was lying on his bed, scrolling through memes on his social feed, when he heard a tapping on his window. He ran to the window and saw Ladybug, dangling upside-down from her yo-yo string. Nino opened up his window and Ladybug gently swung herself in.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “What are you doing here, dudette-er, Ladybug?” Nino asked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Call me whatever you like, I don’t mind.” Ladybug said, “And I believe I’ve just figured out where Mayura is hiding, but I’m going to need your help to take her out.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Whatever you need from me, I’ll do it.” Nino said, and with that, Ladybug opened her yo-yo and took out a Miraculous case.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Nino Lahiffe, here is the Miraculous of the Turtle, which grants the power of protection. You will use it for the greater good.” Nino took the box out of Ladybug’s hands and opened it. A ball of green light emerged before taking shape into Wayzz.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Hello again, Monsieur Lahiffe.” the turtle kwami said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Great seeing you too, Wayzz.” Nino said as he slipped the bracelet onto his wrist.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I’ll go give the other heroes their Miraculous,” Ladybug said, “I want you to meet us on top of the Eiffel Tower at eight o’clock tomorrow morning.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “You can count on me, Ladybug.” Ladybug smiled at Nino, then swung away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Chloe stood on the roof of the Grand Paris, gazing at the sunset in the distance. She looked down at her phone, which showed a post on Sabrina’s Photogram account. In the picture, Sabrina was posing with a dark-skinned boy with buzz-cut black hair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “This is my new friend, Delmar.” the caption read, “He just moved to Paris from New York City and needed someone to show him around. Can’t wait for him to meet all my other school friends!” Chloe set the phone down on the table next to her and looked down at the city below as it wound down for the night.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Tough day?” a female voice asked. Chloe turned to see Ladybug sitting on one of the lawn chairs on the roof.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “L-Ladybug?!” Chloe said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Yes, it’s me.” Ladybug said, “And I need your help again, Chloe.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Really? But... I mean, I know we worked together in the boat... and then in the mall, but... you never really chose to...”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ve come a long way this summer. You’re a real hero now, Chloe. Which is why I need you to help me take down Mayura.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “You cannot be serious.” Chloe squealed as Ladybug opened her yo-yo, “This is ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!” Ladybug chuckled at Chloe’s words, which lacked the venom she was used to hearing in them. The heroine held up the Miraculous case.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Chloe Bourgeois, here is the Miraculous of the Bee, which grants the power of subjection. You will use it for the greater good.” Chloe took the box out of Ladybug’s hands and opened it. A ball of yellow light emerged before taking shape into Pollen, the bee kwami.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “How may I serve you, my queen?” Pollen asked as Chloe put the silver comb in her hair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “All the heroes are meeting at the top of the Eiffel Tower at eight o’clock tomorrow morning.” Ladybug said, “Just hold onto the Miraculous till then.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “At ease, Pollen.” Chloe said, “You heard Ladybug, just be ready to transform and head out for that eight o’clock meeting.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Thank you, my queen.” Ladybug and Chloe smiled and nodded at each other, then Ladybug swung away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The sun was low in the morning sky as the Butterfly, Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Queen Bee stood atop the Eiffel Tower. As the bells of Notre-Dame rang out eight times, signaling the hour, Ladybug and Cat Noir touched down in the center of the small circle the heroes formed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Okay, everyone.” Ladybug said, “Here’s the situation. We think Mayura’s been hiding in plain sight at Hawk Moth’s old lair, which makes that the place where we need to attack. But before we do that, we need to come up with a plan.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Ladybug’s right.” Cat Noir said, “This is going to be very dangerous, so we’re going to need to be extra careful to ensure we come out of this safely.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Don’t worry, silly kitty.” Queen Bee said, “There’s six of us and only one of her. We’ve got this in the bag.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “This is serious, Queen Bee.” Cat Noir said, “When we fought Hawk Moth, Ladybug and Sidewinder almost died.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “What?!” the Butterfly said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “It’s true, Butterfly.” Ladybug said, “We weren’t fully prepared to fight Hawk Moth. The three of us together managed to pull through, but there were some close calls. Mayura is far more powerful and far more dangerous. If we’re going to take her down and come out of it alive and well, we’re going to need every advantage we can get.” Ladybug opened her yo-yo and took out another Miraculous case, “And this is one of them, the Snake Miraculous. If any of us get hurt, this should at least keep any of us from dying.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Wait,” Rena Rouge asked, “if you have the Snake Miraculous, what happened to Sidewinder?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Oh, uh...” Ladybug stammered.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “After defeating Hawk Moth, Sidewinder had to give up his Miraculous for personal reasons.” Cat Noir said, “He declined to share any more information than that, out of concern for his secret identity.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Oh, okay.” Rena Rouge said, a hint of disappointment in her voice.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Back to business, one of us is going to have to double up on Miraculous if we’re going to use this.” Ladybug said, “I should warn you, though, doing so is still dangerous: it can drain your life energy, which can make you sick or even kill you if you aren’t careful. Carapace?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Yeah?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I’m not going to force you to do anything you aren’t comfortable with, but the Snake and Turtle Miraculous are synergistic. If you use them together, anyone you let into your Shell-ter will begin healing on their own.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I was already about to volunteer.” Carapace said as he walked up to Ladybug. She handed him the box, and he opened it up. A ball of teal light emerged, then took the shape of a snake kwami, with a cobra-like hood and a rattle tail.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Salutations, Carapace.” Rattle hissed, “My name is Rattle, and I am the kwami of life and death.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Glad to meet you.” Carapace said as he slid the bracelet onto his wrist.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Okay, here’s my idea.” Ladybug said, “Carapace, you stand back and keep your Shell-ter up, so we can have a safe space to heal up when we need to. Remember, though, this can only be up for five-minute intervals before Wayzz has to recharge.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Don’t worry, though.” Rattle said, “I won’t need to recharge as long as you don’t use my special ability, so I can keep your identity concealed while Wayzz recharges.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Great.” Ladybug said as she handed Nino a container of walnuts, “If you end up needing to recharge, just give some of these to Wayzz.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Right.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Rena Rouge, you use your Mirage to confuse Mayura however you can. You may only get one shot at this, so make it count.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I totally will, LB. I already have a ton of ideas.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Great. If you need to recharge, give Trixx a couple of these.” Ladybug tossed Rena Rouge a box of chocolate-covered raisins, “I, Cat Noir, and Queen Bee will be on the offensive, along with anyone who isn’t actively doing something else. Butterfly, you’re our lifeline. If we get desperate and need a new trick, you create a tenshi to do that.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Sounds like a plan to me.” the Butterfly said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “So is that it?” Queen Bee asked, “That's the entire plan?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Not quite.” Ladybug said, “We still need a way in, one that won’t alert Mayura. Plus, there are a lot of unknowns we need to take into account. But I know a way to kill two birds with one stone.” Ladybug took another Miraculous case out of her yo-yo and handed it to Cat Noir.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Cat Noir... I know this is gonna be difficult, but... Gabriel knows his lair better than anyone else. If you can get him to help us...”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “What?” Rena Rouge said, “You expect us to work with... him?!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Yeah, dude, that’s just wrong.” Carapace said, “Even if he apologized, the man did some terrible things. He’s in prison for a reason.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Hey, people can change, you know!” Queen Bee yelled.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Yeah, she’s right! I’ve seen it before!” the Butterfly chimed in.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Enough!” Cat Noir said, “Ladybug is right. It’s a big risk, but only he knows what Mayura may have up her sleeve. I’ll talk with him later today, see if I can’t get him to come with us.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Now, unless anyone has any suggestions,” Ladybug said, “we’ll be meeting here again tonight at midnight.” The other heroes were deafeningly silent. Rena Rouge and Carapace were strangely fascinated with the deck beneath their feet, Queen Bee had a smug smirk on her face, and the Butterfly’s head seemed to be in several places at once.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Okay then.” Ladybug clapped her hands, “I guess that brings this morning’s meeting to a close.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Nathaniel paced his bedroom floor, rubbing his temples vigorously as he muttered under his breath. The sunset out his window cast a dim pink light on a wastebasket full of disturbing drawings, all depicting brutal combat between the Butterfly and Mayura.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Are you alright, Nathaniel?” Nooroo asked, “You’ve been acting strangely all day.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Considering that I’m probably going to die tonight... yeah, I’m pretty alright.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “You’re not going to die, Nathaniel.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “You heard what Cat Noir said. They nearly died fighting Hawk Moth.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Yes, but that was different.” Nooroo said, “This time, you’ll be ready.” Nathaniel sat down on his bed and rubbed his eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Okay, maybe you’re right. Maybe, statistically speaking, my probability of dying is incredibly low. But there’s still a chance, right? Like getting struck by lightning: it’s rare, but it does happen, so you stay inside during a thunderstorm.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Well, when you put it that way...”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Okay, so what happens if it does strike me?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “That remains to be seen.” Nooroo said, “But, if I may ask, what are you going to do about it?” Nathaniel sat silently for a moment, then stood up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I’m going to do something I may never get another chance to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Nathaniel stood in front of a doorway at the edge of the Louvre, twilight seeping through the skylights. Taking a deep breath, he pressed a small button, activating a muffled buzzer. A tall man with brown hair and a mustache opened the door and looked down at Nathaniel.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Hi, Mr. Kubdel...” Nathaniel said, “Is Alix home?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Yes she is, but I’m not sure she’s in the mood to entertain guests right now.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I understand. But I need to see her, it’s... important.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Well, come in then.” Mr. Kubdel stepped aside and Nathaniel entered. He made his way to a door marked with several humorous warning signs, including one saying “ALIX’S ROOM: KEEP OUT!”. Nathaniel gently knocked on the door, and the door flew open. Alix stood on the other side, wearing a loose t-shirt and short shorts.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “What are you doing here?” Alix asked. The words were harsh, but the bite in her voice was conspicuously absent. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Listen, I know you have every reason to not want me around, and you have every right to feel that way,” Nathaniel said, “but... there’s something really important I need to tell you, and I may not get another chance to tell you. So... can I come in, please?” Alix narrowed her eyes, but when she looked at his face, she could sense something different with him. She took a deep breath, then gestured for Nathaniel to come in. Once he did so, she closed the door behind her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Thanks.” Nathaniel said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Now,” Alix said calmly, “what did you want to tell me?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Alix, I...” Nathaniel paused, choking on his words, “I’m sorry, this is really difficult. I... I told myself I’d never tell anyone, but... things are different now, and...”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Take as much time as you need, but please, just say what you need to say.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Alix...” he said, “I’m the Butterfly.” A look of shock passed over Alix’s face but disappeared just as quickly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Of course.” she said, “It had to be you.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “What do you mean?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “You never used to flake on anyone this bad until the Butterfly showed up.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I know. I’m sorry, I can’t stress enough how terrible I feel about that, but... I hope you at least understand now.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “It... still kind of hurts. Honestly, even with my suspicions, I’m still trying to wrap my head around it... but at the same time, I know that keeping the city safe is always more important, so... I don’t blame you.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Good, because... that’s not all I wanted to tell you. There’s... something else, but... I don’t know how to put it.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Just give it to me straight. Don’t feel like you need to dance around your words to make it easier for me.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Alix, I... I like you.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Of course you like me. You wouldn’t want to hang out with me if you didn’t.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “No, I don’t mean it like that. Alix, I like you in a way I don’t like anyone else. I... Okay, I guess that wasn’t the right word. Alix... I think I love you.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “You think?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Look, I’m sorry. Emotions don’t come easy with me, and yes, I get the irony there, but--” Nathaniel was interrupted by Alix’s lips being pressed against his. Before he could process what was happening, it was over.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “There,” Alix said, “I was wondering what it would take to get you to stop.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Did... did that just... did you just...”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I get it, Nath. Sometimes... sometimes I have a hard time putting my feelings into words, especially... feelings for others. I find that I speak better with actions than words.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “And that...” Nathaniel said, “was an action?” Alix chuckled, and that got Nathaniel to chuckle as well.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “I guess you could call it that. So... you said things were different now. What’s that all about?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Well... we’re going to be facing Mayura tonight, and... I’m not sure I’ll make it back.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “So... this could be your... our last chance.” Alix gripped Nathaniel’s hand tightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>     “Yeah... it could be.” Nathaniel said. The two leaned in for another kiss, and this time, Nathaniel was able to process everything. The gentle pulse of her lips on his, the residual taste of her mint toothpaste, the mild aroma of her sweat. He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her in even closer. In response, Alix clasped her hands around Nathaniel’s neck, and gently stroked his bright red hair. And just like that, they were lost in a moment together and showed no interest in finding their way out.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>FINALLY! The start of the epic conclusion I've been building to since the summer of 2019. Part 2 is pretty much done already, too, so it should be coming within the next week, so stay tuned for that. And as always, I hope you enjoyed reading this... because I've been working on this entire fic for the past three months, and that time better have paid off.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Team Miraculous (Finale - Part 2)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>With Mayura's location finally known, Ladybug brings together the entire Miraculous team to bring her down. But the fight ahead of them is not going to be easy, and may even claim one of their lives.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>     Gabriel stood in the moonlight from his barred window when a brown portal opened behind him. He turned to see Adrien, once again in the horse hero costume, stepping through into the cell.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Adrien?” Gabriel said, “Is something wrong?” Adrien took off the glasses, dropping the transformation, and put them in their case.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Everything’s under control,” Adrien said, “we just need your help.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “What?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Nathalie retreated to your old lair, and we’ve put together a team of six heroes to take her down. But we’ve decided it would be best to get whatever... insider help we can.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “You... you need me to help you? But... I’m not a hero. I’m Hawk Moth.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>were</span>
  </em>
  <span> Hawk Moth. And believe me, some of us won’t let the rest of us forget it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t help.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Even after... everything I did... you still would be willing to accept my help?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “It wasn’t an easy choice,” Adrien admitted, “but any advantage we can get is an advantage we need.” Gabriel smiled at his son, a genuine smile that the boy had not seen in as long as he could remember. Adrien smiled back, and Gabriel turned back to the wall.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “The mansion itself is incredibly secure, as I’m sure you would remember.” Gabriel said, his voice stone-cold and determined again, “In addition, I set up extra protection in my atelier, where the only entrance to the Conservatory was.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “The Conservatory?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “It’s the codename I gave the lair since that’s where I bred my butterflies. As I was saying, there are cameras all around the atelier, each one covering the others’ blind spots. There’s no way for anyone to get in without being seen.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “What if we took out the cameras?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Sidewinder tried that when he first snuck in. However, just seeing that one of the cameras was knocked out immediately captured my attention, and put me on the offensive. Nathalie would undoubtedly react the same way to any disturbance in the surveillance network.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “So we’re going to need to find another way to get us all in, like the Horse Miraculous. Not much of a surprise there.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Getting in is one thing. Inside of the Conservatory is an automated defense system. I didn’t use it in our battle because I didn’t think it was necessary until I was already too occupied with you three. But with the Peacock’s ability to create sentimonsters, that won’t be a problem for Nathalie.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Okay, how do we prepare for that?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “If Nathalie activates the defenses, she will have won. I’ve done several simulations, they’re just too powerful for six heroes to defeat or even avoid. If you’re going to survive the fight, we’re going to need to remove them from the equation completely.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “How do we do that?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “The only way to prevent Nathalie from using those defense systems would be to override her security clearance, and the only person with the clearance to do that is... myself.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Can’t you just give us the code, then?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “The controls are biometric, Adrien. I would need to be there, in-person, to activate the override controls.” Gabriel sighed and sat down on his bed.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Then... you’re going to have to come with us.” Adrien said.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “What? Adrien, if you’re suggesting removing me from this prison cell--”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “You said it yourself, only you can disable those weapon systems.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Adrien, you’re talking about breaking the law!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Sometimes a hero needs to break the law to do what’s right. If the only way to win this fight involves helping you escape prison... well, it’s what we need to do.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Son... you know what could happen to you because of this, right?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Right.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “And... you are prepared to face those consequences?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Yes, I am.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Then... I trust your judgment.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Alright then. Plagg, claws out!” Plagg flew into Adrien’s ring, and he transformed into Cat Noir, “And now, it’s your turn.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “What do you mean?” Gabriel asked as Cat Noir took a Miraculous case out of his pocket.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Dad, based on what you told me, we are going to need to bring both you and the Horse Miraculous to this fight. And if you’re going to be joining a fight like this... well, it only makes sense that you should be on our level.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Adrien, are you saying...”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Gabriel Agreste, here is the Miraculous of the Horse, which grants the power of transportation. You will use it for the greater good.” Cat Noir handed the case to Gabriel, “Once the mission is complete, you must return the Miraculous to us. Can we trust you?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “I... I don’t know the answer to that question myself. But what must be done will be done.” Gabriel opened up the Miraculous case, and a ball of brown light emerged. Gabriel shielded his eyes as the ball reformed into the horse kwami, Kaalki.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Hello, there.” Gabriel said, “What is your name?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “I am Kaalki, the kwami of transportation.” the little horse creature said, “As the embodiment of mankind’s greatest achievements, I must warn you that I will not settle for working with any less than--”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Save it, Kaalki.” Cat Noir said, “We’re still in a desperate situation, and trust me, he’s the right person for this job.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Very well,” Kaalki sighed, “To transform, simply say ‘Kaalki, saddle up.’” Gabriel took off his glasses and placed the Horse Miraculous over his nose. Once they were set, he noticed the lenses shift until they provided perfect vision correction.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Kaalki,” Gabriel said, “saddle up!” Kaalki trotted through the air into the glasses, and the lenses darkened into black shades with horseshoe-shaped rims. Five glowing dots appeared in the nail-holes of each rim, and a brown mesh three-piece suit formed around Gabriel’s body. He ran his hands through his hair, and a small ponytail formed, tied with a miniature horseshoe barrette. A large horseshoe appeared on his back, signaling the end of his transformation.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Nice suit.” Cat Noir said.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Thank you.” Gabriel said, “And you may call me... the Stallion.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “I must say, the name suits you. Now, make us a portal to the top of the Eiffel Tower.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Right.” the Stallion took the horseshoe off of his back and focused his mind’s eye on the observation deck. As the image came into view, a faint overlay of the image appeared in the glasses: the destination was locked in.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Voyage!” he said as he tossed the horseshoe at the wall. A brown portal formed in the gap of the horseshoe and expanded to full size when it boomeranged back to his hand.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Let’s go.” Cat Noir said, but he stopped in his tracks, “Oh, just to be clear, to the other heroes except for Ladybug, I’m just Cat Noir. I’m not Adrien, I’m not your son, just Cat Noir.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Right.” the Stallion said, and with that, the two stepped through the portal together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Ladybug and the other four heroes stood together once again atop the Eiffel Tower. A portal appeared in front of them, and Cat Noir and the Stallion stepped through.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Cat Noir?” Rena Rouge asked, “Who’s this?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Kaalki, dismount.” the Stallion said before Cat Noir could respond to her, and his transformation dropped.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “You didn’t!” she said.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Yeah, I thought we were just consulting with him.” Carapace said, “You actually went and sprung him from the big house?!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “And you gave him a Miraculous?!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Settle down, everyone.” Ladybug said, “Let Cat Noir explain himself.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Thank you.” Cat Noir said as he handed an apple slice to Kaalki, “I spoke to Gabriel about the ins and outs of the Conservatory, his old lair. He said that there was no way to get in undetected, at least not without the Horse Miraculous. Plus, there are weapon systems in there that we’re going to need him to disable. As a result, I decided to loan him the Horse Miraculous so he could get us in and help us out. Ladies, gentlemen, meet the Stallion!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Well, I wasn’t expecting you to give him a Miraculous,” Ladybug said, “but I understand your reasoning.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Thank you, Ladybug.” Gabriel said, “I know that you have every reason not to trust me, but if we’re going to defeat Mayura, we’re going to have to put the past aside and work together.” Rena Rouge glared intensely at the Stallion’s face. A strange feeling at the base of her skull gave her a feeling he was telling the truth.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “So, you’ll help us get into the Conservatory?” she said.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Yes.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “And disable the weapon systems?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Yes.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “That’s it? No funny business?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “No funny business.” he affirmed, “Once this is over, I will return the Miraculous to Ladybug, and return quietly to my prison cell.” Rena Rouge took a deep breath.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Okay then.” she said, “Let’s do this. Ready, Carapace?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Ready.” Carapace said, nodding at Rattle, “Rattle, fangs out!” Rattle slithered through the air into Carapace’s bracelet, turning it into a teal Ouroboros with five black diamonds on its back. The dark green of Carapace’s suit changed to teal, and the same black diamond pattern appeared on his arms and legs. His hood changed to a more cobra-like shape, with more diamonds running down its back, and his goggles gained a pair of snake fangs as his eyes turned to yellow slits. A segmented rattle appeared on his hip, completing his transformation.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Whoa, major upgrade!” he said, “Now I’m... Jade Serpent.” Gabriel turned to Kaalki, who had just finished her snack.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “I am ready to transform again, Mr. Agreste.” the horse kwami said, “Just say the words.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Kaalki, saddle up!” Gabriel said, and he transformed back into the Stallion. He took the horseshoe off of his back and tossed it through the air.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Voyage!” the Stallion said, and a portal appeared in mid-air. The Stallion waved for the heroes to follow him, and he led them through.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Nathalie stood in the light of the Conservatory window, leaning against one of the support ribs. Duusu hovered in front of her, tears streaming down his face.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Mistress, please be more careful.” the peacock kwami sobbed, “You know using my power multiple times is dangerous.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “It... it was what I had to do to keep those heroes distracted.” Nathalie said.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Mistress, please! I’ve already lost one mistress to my condition, I can’t stand the idea of losing another.” Their conversation was interrupted by a snapping noise, and they turned to see a brown portal opening in the center of the room. Ladybug stepped out, followed by Cat Noir, Rena Rouge, Jade Serpent, Queen Bee, the Butterfly, and the Stallion.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “The jig is up, Mayura.” Ladybug said, “I’m going to give you one last chance. Hand over the Miraculous, and this can all be over.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “How about this?” Nathalie said, “You hand over your Miraculous, and I may consider letting you live.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “I’m afraid my offer was non-negotiable.” Ladybug said, “Either hand over the Miraculous, or we’ll have to confiscate it ourselves.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “You’ll regret not accepting my offer, bug.” Nathalie said, “Duusu...”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Mistress, wait! You haven’t fully--”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Dark feathers fan!” Duusu was sucked into the brooch on Nathalie’s chest, transforming it into a blue, five-feathered peacock shape. A ring of blue energy went down from her shoulders to her ankles as a blue dress appeared around her body. A blue and purple cocktail hat appeared on her head, its transparent veil covering her right eye, and her skin and hair turned blue, with purple lipstick on her lips. A large hand fan appeared in her left hand, and Mayura assumed a refined poise.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “If that’s how it’s going to be...” Ladybug said, “Now!” Rena Rouge grabbed her flute and played a brief tune. A ball of orange light appeared at the end, and she flung it towards Mayura.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Mirage!” Rena Rouge said, and nine duplicates of every hero appeared around the villainess. Mayura looked around in confusion only to get hit in the back with Rena Rouge’s flute. She turned around and saw three Rena Rouges. As her eyes darted between the three, a string wrapped around her waist and pulled her down to the ground. Queen Bee landed on her front and pulled back her trompo.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Ven--” before Queen Bee could finish, Mayura tossed her into the crowd of heroes. The villainess curled her fan arm back, ready to throw the implement at the striped heroine when Ladybug’s yo-yo hit her in the back of her head. Mayura turned around to see two Ladybugs and four Cat Noirs, who swung their staffs at her in unison. Mayura jumped out of the way and turned back to where Queen Bee was launched but saw only Jade Serpents and Butterflies. She scanned the room with her eyes and saw a limping Queen Bee amongst the other duplicates. Subtly she shifted directions, then quickly threw the fan at Queen Bee. The edge of the fan cut through the yellow-mesh sleeve and into the pale flesh underneath. Queen Bee clutched her arm and collapsed to the floor. Mayura approached her, swatting away all the illusions of Queen Bee. The fan boomeranged back into Mayura’s hand, and she slashed across Queen Bee’s back. Queen Bee sobbed in pain as Mayura approached her prone form when suddenly a black string with a teal block at the end wrapped around Queen Bee’s ankle. The string retracted, pulled her towards Jade Serpent.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Shell-ter!” he said as he threw up his shield, and a teal energy barrier formed around them. Instantly, the pain went away, and the cut on her arm began knitting itself back together.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Thanks, shell head.” Queen Bee said as she caught her breath.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Hey, it’s what I’m here for.” Jade Serpent said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Mayura ran towards an illusion of Cat Noir, and Rena Rouge swung her flute at her back. However, Mayura stopped in her tracks and grabbed the flute in her hand, turning its momentum against Rena Rouge and throwing her to the floor. Mayura took a segment out of her fan and reached for Rena Rouge’s throat, but Cat Noir’s staff struck her wrist, causing her to drop the fan segment. She turned to Cat Noir and scowled. Ladybug’s yo-yo whizzed through the air and wrapped around Mayura’s chest, pinning her arms to her sides. In response, Mayura carefully slid her fan up under her arm, slicing the yo-yo string with the blade. The yo-yo clattered to the floor as the string fell from Mayura’s torso. Ladybug gasped.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Thought that was indestructible?” Mayura said, “Every weapon has a match.” Mayura threw a segment of her fan at Ladybug, but she ducked and rolled to avoid it. The Butterfly stepped in front of Mayura and swung his net at her. Mayura grabbed the net shaft, however, and twisted his arm.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “This is for stealing Hawk Moth’s Miraculous.” Mayura said as she slashed the Butterfly’s arm with her fan. She flung him to the ground as blood streamed from the cut. He tried to stand, but the pain in his arm was overwhelming. His vision began to blur when suddenly a black string wrapped around his bicep, cutting off the blood flow as it dragged him towards the Shell-ter. Queen Bee breathed heavily as Jade Serpent opened a gap in the shield for him to enter through. Rena Rouge’s pendant began to beep. She looked to Ladybug with concern, but Ladybug smiled and mouthed “we’ll keep her busy.” Rena Rouge ran to a shadowy area of the Conservatory, out of sight from the visible cameras, and watched as Ladybug leaped over Mayura’s head, keeping her attention away from Rena Rouge.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Trixx, let’s rest.” Rena Rouge turned back into Alya Cesaire, and the illusion heroes disappeared. Alya took out the box of raisin snacks, poured five into her hand, and held them up for Trixx.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Thanks.” Trixx whispered, “I am so drained right now.” The fox kwami picked up a raisin and swallowed it whole.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Cat Noir spun his staff dramatically as he approached Mayura.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Now, I don’t mean to ruffle your feathers,” he said, “but blue isn’t really a summer color.” Cat Noir swung his staff at Mayura’s head, but she blocked it with her fan.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “If you’re trying to get a rise out of me, that’s not going to work. If you’re legitimately criticizing my fashion sense, you should probably take a look in the mirror.” Mayura slashed her fan at Cat Noir’s chest, but he bent back to avoid it.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “What are you talking about? Black goes with everything!” Cat Noir thrust his staff at Mayura’s chest, but she grabbed the staff and used it to push Cat Noir back. Ladybug picked up her yo-yo off the floor and threw it at Mayura, striking her in the leg. Mayura glanced at Ladybug, unarmed again, and scoffed before turning back to Cat Noir. As she opened her fan, however, she was blindsided by a strike to her back. She turned to see Rena Rouge, proudly brandishing her flute.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Recharged already?” Mayura said.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “A fox has got to be quick on her feet.” Rena Rouge replied.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Well then, let’s see how quick you are.” Before she finished talking Mayura had already swung her fan at Rena Rouge. Rena, however, did a back handspring and avoided the attack. Mayura took a segment out of her fan and threw it at the fox heroine, but she cartwheeled aside to dodge it. Before Mayura could strike again, Rena Rouge swung her flute at the villainess’s legs, knocking her off-balance long enough to land a thrust to her stomach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The last wedge of Jade Serpent’s bracelet began blinking and beeping.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “I’m about to run out of energy for the Shell-ter.” Jade Serpent warned.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Then drop and recharge.” Queen Bee said, “The others are already keeping her busy.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “But what about the Butterfly?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Just... keep... that string... tight.” the Butterfly panted, “Don’t... let it... bleed.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Okay.” Queen Bee said, holding the string as tightly as she can, “On a count of three?” Jade Serpent nodded.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “One... two... three! Wayzz, shell off.” The Shell-ter dropped, and Jade Serpent’s costume lost its turtle elements. He opened the container of walnuts and presented it to Wayzz.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Eat up, and make it quick.” he said, and Wayzz flew directly into the container.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     Mayura saw Jade Serpent’s Shell-ter drop and began moving in his direction. Rena Rouge swung her flute at her, and Mayura blocked the attack. Before she could retaliate, however, she was struck in the side by Cat Noir’s staff. Rena Rouge and Cat Noir both moved to stand between her and the wounded heroes and crossed their staffs. They ran towards Mayura, pushing her back as Ladybug tied the cut end of her yo-yo string to her finger. She threw the yo-yo, and the string wrapped around Mayura’s wrist. Ladybug yanked the string, causing her to spin and drop the fan on the floor. Mayura regained her bearings and reached for the fan, only for Cat Noir to knock it aside with his staff. Wayzz swallowed one last walnut whole.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “I’m feeling recharged now.” the turtle kwami said.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Great. Wayzz, shell on!” Wayzz flew into the Turtle Miraculous, and the snake hero turned back into Jade Serpent.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Shell-ter!” Jade Serpent said, throwing his shield back up, and the shield formed around the heroes again. Mayura ran to grab her fan but was blocked by Cat Noir’s staff. Mayura slid underneath the staff, however, and grabbed the fan. Ladybug spun her yo-yo rapidly, creating a shield as she, Cat Noir, and Rena Rouge charged Mayura from all directions. Mayura swung her fan at Cat Noir, but he blocked it with his staff before thrusting it into her stomach. As Mayura stumbled backward, Rena Rouge swung her flute at the back of her head, knocking her to her knees. She swept her fan at Ladybug’s legs, but she jumped to avoid the attack, then swung her yo-yo down at Mayura’s head. Mayura, however, moved her head to avoid it and spun around to kick Ladybug in the stomach as she stood back up. Ladybug stumbled backward, bracing herself against the wall by the window. Mayura calmly strode towards Ladybug, clutching a fan segment in her hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The Butterfly started to regain sense and looked down at his arm. The gash left by Mayura’s fan had healed completely, leaving only a pale, barely visible scar. He nodded at Queen Bee, and she unwrapped her trompo string, and Jade Serpent dropped his Shell-ter. Queen Bee took her trompo in her hand and ran towards Mayura.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Venom!” she said, and a ball of energy swelled out from the top, taking the shape of a bee stinger. Queen Bee thrust the stinger into Mayura’s neck, and she collapsed to the floor.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Well done, team.” Ladybug said, “Now to confiscate her Miraculous.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Oh, it’s not over yet, Ladybug.” Mayura said, struggling to pull a feather from her fan. She charged the feather with blue energy and took an Eiffel Tower keychain out of her pocket. She touched the feather to the keychain, and a giant blue peacock appeared above her. The monster flapped its tail feathers, creating a pressure wave strong enough to knock all six heroes to the ground. Mayura forced herself to her feet and ran to the wall opposite the window. She held her eye up to a lens in the wall, and beams of dim light shot out and landed on her eyeball. After a few seconds, the scanner stopped, and Mayura smiled.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Seven intruders have entered the Conservatory.” she said, “Activate defense systems, shoot to kill.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Error.” a digital voice said over a loudspeaker, “Retinal identification not valid.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “What?” Mayura said, “Voice override key: Nathalie Sancoeur. Activate defense systems.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Error.” the voice said, “Voice key incorrect.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “What is going on?!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “It’s over, Nathalie.” the Stallion said, surprising Mayura.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “What?” Mayura said, “You did that... but how?!” The last of the five dots on the Stallion’s glasses blinked out, and he transformed back into Gabriel Agreste.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Mr. Agreste... but I thought--”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Nathalie, listen. I... made a terrible mistake in becoming Hawk Moth. I put innocent people in danger, including my own son, just so I could cling to the past. And now, you’ve put yourself in mortal danger because of my mistake. So please, give your Miraculous back to Ladybug, before it’s too late.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Mr. Agreste, you...” Mayura looked down at the floor in front of Gabriel, and clamped her eyes shut, “you really mean it?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “With all my heart, Nathalie.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “You... you really think... you really think this is about you?” Mayura grabbed one of her fan segments and stabbed the sharp end into Gabriel’s stomach. He doubled over in pain and fell to the ground as Mayura drew the blade back out.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “DAD!” Cat Noir cried.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Dad?” the other heroes asked in near-perfect unison.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Nathalie... why?” Gabriel groaned.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “This had nothing to do with you.” Mayura cackled, “You were just a pawn in my plan to take the Miraculous for myself.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “What?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Ever since I was young, I dreamed of being the most powerful person in the world. That’s why I went into business: money is power, after all. And for years, I climbed my way up the corporate ladder until finally, I got the chance to work as your assistant. Imagine it, personal assistant to Gabriel Agreste, one of the richest men in France. Surely, it was only a matter of time before I could take your place. But then things stagnated. For years, I did everything you asked of me and then some, doing everything I could to stay in your good graces in the hopes that someday, my efforts would be noticed. But no matter what I did, nothing changed. That is until you went on that trip to Tibet and brought back that book: the book that contained the secret to the greatest power in the universe. Power beyond that of even all the money in the world! I didn’t know how I would do it, but I swore that someday, I would get my hands on that power.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “What? But me becoming Hawk Moth had nothing to do with you.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Did it?” Mayura sneered, “When Emilie died, who was it who reminded you that you still had another Miraculous lying around, and a book containing all of their secrets?” Gabriel flashed back to that day, almost a year ago now.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <em>
    <span>Gabriel sat at his desk, staring at a framed photograph of him and Emilie together. Nathalie walked into the room and saw him. She looked down at the floor in apparent sadness.</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>     “Mr. Agreste... I heard about what happened to Emilie. I’m... I’m so sorry.”</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>     “Thank you, Nathalie.” Gabriel replied. His voice was cold, in a way that she wasn’t used to hearing it.</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>     “Are you okay, sir?”</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>     “I don’t know, Nathalie. I don’t want to look weak, especially not in front of Adrien, but... she was everything to me. My love, my muse, my inspiration. I don’t know what I’m going to do without her.”</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>     “Did... did she leave you with anything to remember her by?”</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>     “Only what she had found on the expedition. The book, and the other brooch.”</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>     “The book?”</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>     “With the two brooches, there was a book, containing artwork of the people who used the Miraculous in the past, along with some... coded text.”</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>     “Ancient artwork, you say? And... Emilie found this book and left it with you?”</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>     “Yes, she did.”</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>     “Well, perhaps you could take another look at it. She may be gone, but... maybe you can still find inspiration in what she left behind.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>     “It was... it was you.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Exactly. I knew you would figure out what the Miraculous could do, and that you would try to take them to revive Emilie. And once you had them, all I had to do was convince you to entrust me with them, then I could have anything I wanted. Unlimited power in the palm of my hand.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “So all this time... I was...”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Like I said, just a pawn.” Mayura said. Gabriel glared at her, the bloodstain on his shirt expanding at an alarming rate. He staggered forward but quickly collapsed.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “You really think you can fight me in that state?” Mayura said, “How pathetic.” Gabriel reached for Mayura’s arm, but she simply turned to the side. As she did, however, he reached to the side and grabbed the brooch on her chest. With a forceful yank, the brooch ripped off of her dress, and she transformed back into Nathalie as the sentimonster disappeared. Gabriel collapsed, dropping the brooch to the floor. Nathalie ran to grab it, but a black leather-clad hand grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the wall. Cat Noir glared at Nathalie and hissed. She struggled to free her neck from his grip when suddenly her pupils went wide. A low gurgle in the back of her throat grew louder, and she began to cough and gag. Cat Noir let go of her, but she continued choking as she fell to her hands and knees. Blood trickled down from her ears and nose and even more came out of her mouth as she coughed.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “I... I didn’t do anything to her, I swear!” Cat Noir stammered.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “It’s the Miraculous!” Ladybug said, “She’s expended too much of her life energy!” Nathalie writhed on the floor in pain, before finally crumbling down as her body went limp. The Butterfly ran up to Nathalie’s body and turned her face-up. He placed his fingers on her neck.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “No pulse...” he said before placing an ear to her chest, “Not breathing...” he gently opened her eyelid: her eye didn’t move.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “She’s... dead.” the Butterfly said. As the other heroes gathered around Nathalie’s body, Cat Noir and Jade Serpent raced to Gabriel’s side. Jade Turtle waved his rattle over the wound in his stomach, while Cat Noir cradled his head.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Don’t die on me, please.” Cat Noir blubbered, “Please, stay with me.” Jade Serpent looked with concern at Gabriel’s stomach, which was bleeding faster than it could heal.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “It’s not working.” Jade Serpent said, “The injuries are... too severe.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “I’ll call an ambulance.” the Butterfly said as he took out his net-phone.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Please, please, please don’t die!” Cat Noir sobbed.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “It’s okay...” Gabriel whispered, “Your mother and I will be together soon.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Don’t say that... please, don’t say that!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “It’s going to be alright. You’re in good hands... better than I could provide on my own. And... I love you, Adrien.” Gabriel put a hand to Cat Noir’s face, and then he stopped breathing. His eyes closed halfway as his arm fell limply. Cat Noir pulled Gabriel’s body close to him and cried uncontrollably. Ladybug put her hand on his shoulder and opened her mouth to speak, but words failed to rise. She took a deep breath and fought back the tears welling up in her eyes.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Kitty... it’s time to go.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “I can’t leave him!” Cat Noir wailed.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “We can’t stay here.” Ladybug said, “If we’re still here when the police arrive, they might arrest us and take our Miraculous. We can’t let that happen.” Cat Noir let out a few more tears but set Gabriel’s body down on the floor. Ladybug gently pulled Cat Noir into a hug.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “I’m sorry, kitty.” Ladybug said, “I know this must be so hard for you.” Jade Serpent picked up the Peacock and Horse Miraculous off the ground and handed them to Ladybug.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Thank you.” she said before breaking the hug with Cat Noir and putting on the glasses, “Kaalki, saddle up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>     The six heroes emerged from a portal at the top of the Eiffel Tower, and all simultaneously breathed a deep sigh. The battle was finally over and won. But none of them were smiling. The tragic scene they had all witnessed still burned fresh in their minds.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “He... he saved us.” Jade Serpent stammered, “He died... saving us.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Not just us... he saved the whole city” Rena Rouge added, “I... I never should have doubted him.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “It’s my fault.” Cat Noir said, “If I hadn’t brought him along...”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Mayura would have turned on those weapons and killed us all.” Ladybug reminded him, “He knew what he was getting into, and... we couldn’t have won without him.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Yeah, your father was a hero.” Queen Bee said.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “What?” Cat Noir said, “What do you mean? What are you--”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Oh, please.” Queen Bee said, “We all heard you call him ‘Dad’.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Mhm.” Rena Rouge said.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Yeah.” the Butterfly said.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “I... I did?” Cat Noir said, “Oh... well... I...”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “It’s okay, Adrikins. If I saw my daddy get stabbed, I probably wouldn’t be able to hold back either.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Or if you saw your ‘Adrikins’ feeling depressed.” Rena Rouge said, “Now where have I heard that nickname before, Chloe?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Point proven.” Queen Bee said, “Pollen, buzz off.” Queen Bee transformed back into Chloe.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “I’m sorry, Ladybug.” Cat Noir said, “I guess I still messed up pretty badly.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Chloe is right, kitty. It was a... natural reaction. Besides, we all entrusted our lives to each other when we went into this fight. We can all trust each other with this little secret.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “So, if Cat Noir is Adrien,” Rena Rouge said, “and you two have been getting more... affectionate with each other...”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Whoa, easy there.” Ladybug said, “Just because Cat Noir and Queen Bee let some things slip, that doesn’t mean you should go full detective mode on us.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Come on, Marinette, it’s not a big leap.” Rena Rouge said, “Besides, you said it yourself, we can trust each other.” Jade Serpent approached Cat Noir.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “She’s right, bro.” he said, “You can trust me.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Bro?” Cat Noir asked. Jade Serpent’s costume disappeared and he turned back into Nino Lahiffe.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Nino?” Cat Noir said.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Nino?” Rena Rouge said.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “You know Nino, too?” Cat Noir asked.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Know him?” Rena Rouge said before dropping her transformation, “He’s my boyfriend.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Well, I guess that’s all but one of our identities revealed.” Ladybug groaned, “Butterfly, any interest in sharing?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “I mean, might as well. Nooroo, wings fall.” the Butterfly’s costume disappeared, revealing Nathaniel Kurtzberg.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Nathan?” Ladybug said.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Well, there’s a surprise.” Alya said.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Not really.” Chloe said, “Who else do you know that could come up with that many new heroes?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Okay, you got me there.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “So... where does that leave us?” Nino asked, “With both Hawk Moth and Mayura out of the picture, does Paris need superheroes anymore?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “That’s... something I’m going to need to figure out with the Guardian. And... we’ve got a lot to figure out. You can hold onto your Miraculous in the meantime, though. Just in case something unexpected happens.”</span>
  <span></span><br/>
<span>     “Thank you, Ladybug.” Alya said.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>     “Now, go home and get some rest. You’ve earned it.” With that, everyone transformed back into their hero form and left, leaving Ladybug and Cat Noir alone together.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And with that, the Butterfly Saga comes to a close. All that remains is an epilogue, and then the story will be over. This is probably the hardest chapter I've had to write for this saga. The biggest problem was making the final fight epic without feeling bloated, but Nathalie's betrayal and the identity reveal at the end also had me constantly second-guessing. For now, I'm pretty happy with what I've done, and hopefully, it'll stay that way going forward. That said, I am very open to constructive criticism, and may even end up coming back to revise this chapter. But for now, I hope you enjoy what you've read so far, and thank you for making it as far as you have.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Epilogue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em> Do you believe in happy endings? </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> Or the mendings of human hearts? </em></p><p>     By the time emergency services arrived at the Conservatory, the heroes were already gone. The bodies of Gabriel Agreste and Nathalie Sancouer were picked up by ambulances and brought to the hospital, and pronounced dead on arrival. Gabriel’s cause of death was determined to be blood loss, but Nathalie’s death had no officially recognized cause: none of her vital organs were damaged, nor had she lost a deadly amount of blood. However, Dr. Caroline Kurtzberg noted in her autopsy report that Nathalie’s physical state was consistent with that of Emilie Agreste’s body. As a result, while the official cause of death is undetermined, Dr. Kurtzberg concluded that she died from the same cause, which, according to Gabriel Agreste’s testimony, was loss of life energy due to the use of a damaged Miraculous.</p><p>     That morning, Adrien sat on the couch in his old bedroom, watching the sky through the window. The Sun shone brightly, and white clouds peppered the sky. It was a beautiful day. Too beautiful. His phone buzzed, and he took it out of his pocket. There was a new text message from Pat McNeil.<br/>    “I heard about your father.” the message read, “I’m so sorry, I can’t imagine how awful it must be.” Another message came in soon after. <br/>    “I won’t be able to make it to the funeral, for obvious reasons, but I’ll try to do something nice to make up for it.” Adrien wanted to respond but didn’t know what to write, so he put the phone back in his pocket. He heard a gentle knock on his door, and he turned to see Marinette walking in with a box in her hands. <br/>    “Hey...” she said, “I... thought you could use some company today.” <br/>    “Thanks, Marinette.” Adrien said, putting on his model smile as she sat down next to him. <br/>    “So... how are you doing?” <br/>    “Hanging in there.” <br/>    “Are you sure?” she said, “I mean, it’s fine if you are, but... don’t feel like you need to pretend that you’re doing better than you are.” Adrien took a deep breath and dropped the smile. <br/>    “It’s... I don’t know. I’m... like I said, I’m hanging in there. But... it’s difficult.” <br/>    “I get it. Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.” <br/>    “Just being here is enough for now.” Adrien said as he hugged Marinette close to him. <br/>    “I brought you something.” Marinette said, opening up the box. Inside was an assortment of baked goods: croissants, pains au chocolat, chocolate chip cookies, and macarons. <br/>    “Figured you might appreciate having some comfort food.” she continued. <br/>    “Thank you, Marinette.” he said, setting the box down on the table in front of him. He pulled Marinette back into the hug, and she hugged him back. He closed his eyes, and a single tear slid down his face.</p><p>     Mayor Bourgeois sat at his desk, looking at a camera with a teleprompter affixed to the front.<br/>    “People of Paris,” he said, “I am addressing you today concerning the recent events involving the superheroes and villains of Paris. <br/>    “As some of you may know, on the night of August 13, Gabriel Agreste, formerly the supervillain Hawk Moth, was found missing from his prison cell. Later that night, he and his assistant Nathalie Sancouer were found dead in his former lair. In reviewing footage from the building’s security cameras, Gabriel was seen leading the heroes into the lair through a magical portal created by him through what appears to be one of the heroes’ Miraculous jewels. Judging by this fact, it can be deduced that Ladybug, Cat Noir, and the other heroes of Paris likely assisted in his escape from prison. Under normal circumstances, this would be considered a flagrant violation of national security and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. <br/>    “However, the circumstances captured on tape were not normal. For it seems that it was only with Gabriel’s assistance that the heroes were able to enter Mayura’s lair and catch her off-guard. Without this advantage, our heroes likely would not have been able to defeat Mayura and save Paris from further destruction at the hands of her sentimonsters. <br/>    “Furthermore, the cameras captured Gabriel Agreste’s final moments. In these moments, Gabriel confronted Mayura head-on, sustaining a fatal injury in the process, but ultimately securing her stolen Miraculous. In short, he sacrificed his life to defeat Mayura, ending her reign of terror over our fine city. Many words can describe this act, but the best one, in my opinion, is ‘heroic’. <br/>    “What Gabriel Agreste did as Hawk Moth is inexcusable. The catastrophic levels of damage he did to our city and all who reside in it cannot be ignored. At the same time, however, the brave and selfless acts I and many others have seen him perform cannot go unrecognized. In light of these unusual circumstances, I have spoken to the President of France, and we have agreed to declare that, in saving Paris from Mayura, Gabriel Agreste’s debt to society has been fully repaid. Therefore, the President has decided to grant Gabriel Agreste a full pardon for all charges he has been convicted of. In addition, any and all charges against the heroes who aided in his escape--Ladybug, Cat Noir, the Butterfly, Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Queen Bee--have also been dropped. <br/>    “I have little doubt that this decision will be controversial. However, the actions carried out that night, illegal though they may have been, have done an immeasurable amount of good for the safety of the Parisian people. As a result, it would be ungrateful and close-minded of us to punish our heroes instead of honoring them. And now, we look forward to a brighter future for Paris. One free of all threats, magical or mundane. One where all came live in peace. Thank you.”</p><p>     The Theatre Peltier production of <em> The Man-Fly </em> was a success. Adrien still decided to go through with the play despite the timing, and while many enjoyed his performance, all agreed that Lila stole the show with how she brought Barbara Langelaan to life. Nathaniel’s work on the creature and set design did not go unnoticed, either, nor did Marinette’s costume design work. It was hardly a surprise that the house was full the night of their final show, nor that the cast and crew received a standing ovation when they took their final bows. A half-hour after the show had finished, Lila came out of the dressing room and handed her dress to Marinette. <br/>    “Thanks again for all your help.” Lila said. <br/>    “Don’t worry about it.” Marinette said, “I’m always happy to help out a friend.” <br/>    “See, that’s just the thing. You... you were a friend to me, even when I didn’t deserve one.” <br/>    “Don’t say things like that, Lila.” Adrien chimed in, “If a person wants to be better, they deserve a chance to be better.” <br/>    “Adrien’s right, Lila. People change all the time, and you’ve changed for the better.” <br/>    “Thanks. You have no idea how much I needed to hear that.” Lila sighed, “But now... I guess this is gonna have to be goodbye.” <br/>    “What do you mean?” <br/>    “Well, my parents’ business in Paris is almost finished, so we’ll be going back to Italy in a few days.” <br/>    “Oh. Well, we’re going to miss you.” <br/>    “I’ll miss you both, too.” <br/>    “So, any idea where you’ll go next?” Adrien asked. <br/>    “Actually, my therapist suggested that the constant moving... might be part of the problem.” <br/>    “Oh.” <br/>    “Yeah, my parents talked with us about it, and we agreed that I would do better to stay in Italy for the rest of my education.” <br/>    “That’s probably for the best.” Adrien said, “But what about your parents’ work?” <br/>    “My grandparents don’t live far from Rome. No final call has been made, but we’re thinking I’ll go stay with them if my parents ever need to go out of the country.” <br/>    “Well, good luck then.” Marinette said. <br/>    “Thank you, Marinette.” Lila pulled Marinette into a hug, “I’m happy I can honestly call you my best friend.” Marinette smiled as Lila ended the hug. <br/>    “Well, I should get going.” Lila said. <br/>    “Stay in touch,” Marinette said, “you have our socials, right?” <br/>    “Right.” <br/>    “Well then... <span class="u">Adieu!</span>” <br/>    “<span class="u">Adieu!</span>” Lila chuckled before walking out the backstage door. As soon as the door closed, the smile dropped from Marinette’s face. <br/>    “‘I can honestly call you my best friend’...” Marinette said, “You don’t think?” <br/>    “I doubt it.” Adrien said, “But then again, they say it’s im-paw-sible to fool a good liar.” <br/>    “That wasn’t funny, kitty.” Marinette said, stifling a chuckle.</p><p>     Adrien and Marinette sat together in the front pew of the church. A casket sat before the altar as a priest recited scripture from the podium.<br/>    “And now,” said the priest, “we shall hear from Mr. Agreste’s dear son, Adrien.” Adrien stood up and walked up to the podium. From up there, he saw Alya, Nino, Nathaniel, and Alix, all with their families. There were the Bourgeois’, Andre, Chloe, and even Audrey, the new CEO of <em> Gabriel </em> . Also present were some of Gabriel’s business partners, whose names Adrien never took the time to learn. Adrien fought back tears as he smiled at the sight of everyone gathered. <br/>    “Thank you, Father.” he said, “My father, Gabriel, was a... very unusual man. Many people remember him the way he was... near the end of his life, but he wasn’t always like that. While he was always passionate about his work, he would still make time to be with his family when Mom was still alive. I remember one of Mom’s favorite stories was of the day I was born. He had an investor’s meeting that day where he was supposed to reveal his planned lineup for the next year. He had worked for weeks on his presentation, and he was fully prepared and on the road... then Mom went into labor three days early. He dropped everything, abandoned the meeting, and made straight for the hospital. As you can imagine, he lost a lot of money that day.” One of the businessmen chuckled at that story. <br/>    “But do you know what he always said when she would rib him about it? He said that seeing the beginning of my life was worth every penny. And I think that shows what I’m trying to say. When people see the way things are now, they often think that’s how they’ll always be. They tend to forget how much things change. Losing Mom changed Dad for the worse, but that doesn’t mean that he couldn’t change for the better. Gabriel Agreste wasn’t always the best man he could’ve been, but in the moments where it truly counted, he was the greatest man I have ever known. And I’m proud to call myself his son.” Adrien stepped down from the podium, and the organist began playing ‘Danny Boy’. Adrien had known the melody for years from his piano lessons, but he never knew the meaning of the English lyrics until he learned it from Luka: they’re the parting words of Danny Boy’s father, who likely won’t live to see his son come home. Hearing the lyrics translated for the first time brought Adrien to tears, and now just hearing the tune brought Gabriel’s own parting words back to his mind: “You’re in good hands, better than I could provide on my own. I love you, Adrien.”</p><p>     The next day, all the heroes gathered together at Master Fu’s parlor.<br/>    “Forgive us, Master.” Marinette said, “I didn’t intend for our identities to be revealed to one another, but... things got out of control.” <br/>    “There is no need to apologize, Marinette.” Master Fu said, “I never expected you to keep your identities from each other forever. That’s why I didn’t say anything when you and Adrien discovered each other’s identities.” <br/>    “Then why have us keep them secret from each other in the first place?” Alya asked. <br/>    “Trust is not something that one earns in one great moment. It is something that is built over time, by the culmination of many small moments. And a secret of this caliber requires a great deal of trust to share. Thus, I wanted you to have as much time as you needed to build that trust before you learned each other’s secrets.” <br/>    “That’s deep, man.” Nino said. <br/>    “Yeah, I suppose it makes sense.” Alya said. <br/>    “The circumstances were... not ideal, I will admit. But you have all proven trustworthy to one another, so I see no issue with all of you knowing.” <br/>    “Thank you, Master.” Marinette said, “But with Mayura defeated, we should probably return our Miraculous now.” <br/>    “Perhaps. But first... you say the Peacock Miraculous is damaged? Let me see it.” Marinette handed the Peacock brooch to Master Fu. He held a jeweler’s loupe to his eye and looked closely at the brooch. He saw that the cracks on the backside all emanated from a very subtle toothmark. <br/>    “Yes, it is as I feared.” Master Fu said, “The same mistake that led to me losing these Miraculous all those years ago... also resulted in the Peacock Miraculous being damaged.” <br/>    “What happened?” Marinette asked. <br/>    “When I was young, younger than you are now... I tried using this Miraculous. I created a sentimonster to help me protect the Miraculous, but... I wasn’t ready to wield its power. I couldn’t control what I had created, and the Guardian Temple was destroyed. I managed to defeat it, but... I lost the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous in the fight.” <br/>    “Is there... any way to fix it?” Nathaniel asked. <br/>    “There may be... one way. But I won’t be able to do it here.” <br/>    “What do you mean?” Adrien asked. <br/>    “Just as a Miraculous can only be damaged by the power of another Miraculous, a damaged Miraculous can only be repaired by the power of another Miraculous. But... no Miraculous in Paris possesses that power.” <br/>    “What about outside of Paris?” Chloe asked. <br/>    “That may be a different story.” Master Fu turned to his bookshelf and grabbed the grimoire off of it. He opened it up to a page Marinette and Adrien had never seen before, one depicting a hooded superheroine in brown, with antlers on her head and a bolas in her hand. <br/>    “This page describes a Miraculous of the Stag, which grants the power of restoration. According to this, it possesses the power to undo any damage, regardless of when or why it happened.” <br/>    “Do you know where it is?” Marinette asked. <br/>    “It is on the other side of the Atlantic, in what is now the United States of America.” <br/>    “So to fix the Peacock Miraculous, we’re going to need to go to America, find this Stag Miraculous, get it, and then use it to repair the Peacock Miraculous?” Adrien said. <br/>    “It will be a trek, but it’s doable.” Master Fu said, “There is a Guardian Temple in America that is in charge of protecting the Miraculous. They will be able to help me when I arrive.” <br/>    “Wait, you’re going?” Marinette said, “On your own?” <br/>    “Why of course. If any of you come with me, who will protect Paris?” <br/>    “But Master, what if something happens to you?” <br/>    “Don’t worry about me, Marinette. I will be fine. I can take care of myself, and I will have the American Guardians to help me. But, if you would like to help me, I’m going to need someone to take care of the Miracle Box while I’m gone.” <br/>    “Are you... asking me to be the Guardian?” <br/>    “Acting Guardian, and only until I return home.” <br/>    “I... I don’t know. I mean, that’s a big responsibility, and--” <br/>    “Girl, don’t sell yourself short.” Alya said, “You’re more than up to it.” <br/>    “But, what about homework? And student council? And--” <br/>    “Trust me, Marinette. You’ll be fine.” Adrien said, “You’ve handled multiple responsibilities before, right?” <br/>    “R...right.” <br/>    “And as your deputy, I can pick up any slack you need me to with student council.” <br/>    “And hey, we’re all here for you if you need us.” Nathaniel added. <br/>    “Don’t feel like we’re trying to pressure you or anything.” Nino said. <br/>    “But let’s be real, you’d crush it.” Chloe said. <br/>    “Okay, I... I guess I’ll do it.” <br/>    “Thank you, Marinette.” Master Fu said, “I will schedule a flight to America right away.” <br/>    “So, should we return our Miraculous now?” Adrien asked. <br/>    “I believe that is a question for your acting Guardian.” Master Fu said, gesturing towards Marinette. <br/>    “Oh, well... “ Marinette stammered, before taking a deep breath. <br/>    “Even with all the Miraculous accounted for, there’s still so much we can do to help as superheroes. But at the same time, having too many Miraculous out in the world at once is dangerous. So I say we should keep the number of long-term heroes to a minimum. Adrien, you and I will continue to be Ladybug and Cat Noir full-time. The rest of you should return your Miraculous to the box. However, if at any point, I need the power of any of your Miraculous, I will not hesitate to call on you. And if a new villain enters the fray, you’ll all get to be full-time heroes.” <br/>    “Wise decision, Marinette.” Master Fu said. Marinette opened the Miracle Box, and Alya, Nino, Chloe, and Nathaniel all put their Miraculous in the designated spots. Marinette closed the box back up and put it in her bag. <br/>    “Now, I will be off to prepare for my trip.” Master Fu said, “You have all done great jobs, and I hope to see you all again someday, hopefully under better circumstances. Goodbye, heroes.” <br/>    “Goodbye, Master.” Marinette said.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Well, that was quite a journey. I tried my best to tie up all the major loose ends while still making this flow naturally. I hope I succeeded at that. As for the future of the Sidewinder AU... I have an idea for another saga, but I'm not feeling ready to commit to it just yet. I have so much on my plate right now, and I'd like to get more of that taken care of before I start any new projects. But I would very much like to return to this AU when I'm feeling more prepared. Until then, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed The Butterfly Saga.</p>
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